Five Nuts cracked the Cal League top 20 according to Baseball America and Tulo would have too had he a few more AB's, however since it is a smaller league don't get too excited. Still, add in Joe Gaetti, Seth Smith and a couple of other promising players and you could see why we're optimistic for 2007 and beyond when it comes to the Purple and Black.
Only Ian Stewart cracked the top ten, and his number four ranking actually would be low if he didn't struggle so much at first coming back from injury to start the season, and if the Angels duo of Kendrick and Wood hadn't been so spectacular. The other four to make the list were Chris Ianetta, Ubaldo Jiminez, Juan Morillo and Jim Miller. There are some kinks in the pretty picture, however, despite the wealth of talent, Modesto as a team struggled -especially in a late season slide- and several of the players besides Stewart experienced extended slumps that leave a few questions about their true abilities headed into 2006. There are a few fringe players as well with this team that might have a hard time finding a place in the Rockies system at certain spots, particularly infielders such as Jonathan Herrera, Christian Colonel and Michael Davies, despite the limited success each has experienced. And what about one dimensional relievers such as Jason Burch and Joshua Newman? These are just a few of the questions to consider when you look at 2005 Modesto, and hopefully Tulsa next season has the answers.