4/28-4/30 Series Preview: Harrisburg vs. Akron

The Senators (2-13) have the day off today as they head to first place Akron (13-4) for a 3 game series.

The Senators are already 10 games out of first in the EL’s Southern Division.

Akron’s roster hasn’t changed in the last week so it is still full of prospects (Santana, Weglars, Mills, Rivero and Rondon) and a bunch of mid-level prospect.

Harrisburg will be without the services of SS Ian Desmond who is out for 4-6 weeks. Joining the team from extended spring training is RHP Adrian Alaniz.

PROBABLE STARTERS:
4/28/09 Justin Jones (L) at Akron, Hector Rondon (R)
4/29/09 Ross Detwiler (L) at Akron, Josh Tomlin (R)
4/30/09 Cory VanAllen (L) at Akron, Steven Wright (R)

Weather Forecast:


Top Prospects:
Prospect wise, nothing has changed since these teams faced-off last week. Below are both Baseball America (BA) and John Sickels (JS) list of prospects for each team. If necessary, I will also offer notes on players to watch. For more information on John’s grading system visit here

Akron Top Prospects:
C: Carlos Santana 1(BA) / B+(JS)
OF: Nick Weglars 3(BA) / B-(JS)
1B: Beau Mills 5(BA) / B(JS)
SS: Carlos Rivero 11(BA) / B-(JS)
RHP: Hector Rondon 13(BA) / B(JS)
RHP: Josh Tomlin 28(BA) / C(JS)
LHP: Chuck Lofgren C(JS)
RHP: Neil Wagner C(JS)
RHP: Steven Wright C(JS)
3B: Jared Goedert C(JS)
OF: John Drennen C(JS)

Other prospects of note: RHP Carlton Smith

Senators Top Prospects:
LHP: Ross Detwiler 2(BA) / B-(JS)
OF: Leonard Davis 16(BA) / C(JS)
1B: Bill Rhinehart 17(BA)
SS: Ian Desmond 19(BA) / C(JS) (DL 4-6 weeks)
RHP: Luis Atilano 27(BA)
LHP: Cory Van Allen 28(BA)
OF: Marvin Lowrance C+(JS)
OF: Mike Daniel C(JS)
LHP: Yunior Novoa C(JS)

Other pitching prospects to watch: Adrian Alaniz, Adam Carr, Justin Jones, Josh Wilkie, and Zech Zinicola.
Hitting prospects to watch: OF: Edgardo Baez and C: Jhonatan Solano.