In this feature I will rundown the players with the top tools that I have seen to this date. For full disclosure I am yet to see Tri City or Spokane.The tools I will go over are as followed for position players.
The Hit Tool
Power
Fielding
Running
Arm strength
And here we go
The hit tool
It would be too easy to list Cory Spangenberg and seeing as how he has moved on to bigger and better things I won’t
1. Mike Murray– Salem Keizer Mix Carlos Gonzales’s lower half with Mike Napoli’s upper half and you have an idea how the swing plays out. Lots of movement but it is all so controlled. He has incredible length through the hitting zone, a wicked eye at the plate, killer extension, and great hips. I would never advise a young ballplayer to emulate Murray’s preswing because it is so uniquely his but his mechanics from toe touch on out are textbook. He can use the whole field very well. He is one of the few batters in the NWL who is making at bat to at bat if not pitch to pitch adjustments.
1A. Donavan Tate— Eugene I say 1 A only because he hasn’t played enough to warrant that number one spot over a catcher hitting .400 To be frank this kid has hands down the best tools in the league to go along with the highest ceiling. He has plus plus batspeed but still seems to be tinkering with his stance and approach on a game to game basis. His hands will allow him to hit 300 in the NWL without issue but there is such a bright future for this young man that anything less would be a bust.
2. Jhramidy De Jesus- Everett With a name like Jharmidy how can the guy go wrong. He starts his swing very early and remains calm throughout. He takes pitches better than almost every hitter in the league. While that sounds wholly underwhelming it will help him down the road. He keeps his hands in tight and has good timing in regards to his hands and hips firing in perfect harmony.
Worth noting; Mykal Stokes, Jarred Burgess, Joseph Panik, Kaohi Downing
Power
1. Stephen McQuail– Vancouver- Leads the league in bombs by a wide margin. The swing is still raw but the strength is real. He is one of only a handful of guys who can hit a ball out of the park while not hitting the sweet spot of the barrel.
2. Paul Hoilman– Boise- Big hoss. For such a large human being it would be easy to think of him as a guy who just swings from his heels and hopes for the best. I actually like how Hoilman’s swing is put together besides some stance and pre swing issues. He has a perfect bat path for launching balls out of the park. While he is not doing it presently, his swing will eventually led itself to some opposite field power.
3. Mike Murray– Salem Keizer I never saw a pitcher throw this guy anything over the inner third of the plate. That tells you something right there. When a pitcher did miss inside, Murray really turns on it and creates a new landing zone over the right field fence. While McQuail and Hoilman have more raw power than Murray, it is Murray who is best equipped to show game time power as opposed to just batting practice power.
Worth Noting: Lee Orr, Jose Dore, Balibino Fuenmayo, Brice Cutspec, Jabari Blash
Fielding
Raul Navarro-SS- Yakima-This kid can pick it. He is a blur going to his back hand side which is quite rare. Watching him in the field the word “slick” comes to mind. Great footwork and glove actions. He sets himself up well by taking the right angles to balls. Even without his above average arm he would be the best fielder I have seen yet. Add that to the mix and this is one wicked SS.
Michael Dowd– Catcher– Everett 70 arm. Great footwork behind the plate. Quiet body while receiving the ball and soft hands. Ok, none of those were complete sentences but I don’t need to wax poetic about this guy. I honestly felt bad for some of the finesse pitchers he was catching because he threw the ball back to them harder than they pitched it to him… or at least it seemed like that.
Donavan Tate– CF- Eugene- I imagine there will one day be a joke about Tate being his own one man outfield. His range is just that crazy. He goes gap to gap better than anybody in the league and becomes a blur when he turns and runs on balls over his head. The only drawback to his defense now is that initial read of the ball. You might see him freeze or flinch and then take off. 9 times out of 10 he will still catch it and as he gets more time in the field his athletic instincts will take over and there won’t be that moment of hesitation.
Speed
Donavan Tate blows every one else’s wheels off and looks easy doing it.
Arm Strength: How can I elaborate on this? All these guys have cannons. End of story.
Kerry Jenkins- OF- Yakima
Michael Dowd- C- Everett
Ryan Honeycutt- OF- Salem Keizer
Oregon Baseball Report 
Donavan Tate: I like what you say here about him, but this was early days, wasn’t it? After returning from suspension, how does he look to you? It seems that he has lost something…. 8/7/11
Indeed he has lost something but the tools are still there. What’s frustrating with Tate is that he is so talented that he can be off and still be one of the best players in the league. He is still probably the best athlete in the league so he still grades out well in areas like arm strength, defense, and speed. In terms of hitting he could easily be the best hitter in the league which is why I included him. Currently, his swing is out of sync and he is still getting one or two hits a game.
A few days ago I did a brief write up of how he looks upon his return from suspension.
“I wondered what the this talented young man would do with all this free time and apparently the logical choice was to change the swing that made you into a first round draft pick. Whether this was done by him or by the coaches I have no idea. At the start of the season we saw Tate with an upright stance but wide stance and relaxed hands that led to a fluid, explosive, albeit raw swing. The batspeed, the hands, the extension, the length of his hitting zone, and an improving lower half… It was all there.
The stance and approach Tate showed up with to his first game back was totally different. He was more spread out, slightly open, more bent down, with high hands pulled close to his head. Frankly he looked stiff. He had no real load to speak of and his whole timing throughout his swing looked off. Because he had no real load to get things going that head turning batspeed wasn’t there. The incredible length through the zone wasn’t there. His lower half was non existent, but his plus wrists served as his saving grace allowing him to shoot balls through the holes in the infield. This was not the Donavan Tate the Padres drafted. ”
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no way tate is faster than jesus galindo of salem kiezer!!!!
I went back to my notes and saw where I tripped up. I have seen Galindo get thrown out going for second twice vs Eugene. The Em’s don’t have particulary strong catchers so I assumed Galindo was nothing special. Looking at the stats Galindo is killing it.
Also I never saw Galindo get tested in the outfield where I have seen Tate run down a ton of balls. Bad circumstances but yeah, Galindo is a burner.
Oh and Salem Kiezer should have a team wide policy where everyone has to wear their socks high. Digging the black with red stripes. Make them stirrups though. Agree?