Who's our top offensive prospect?

With the way four of our offensive prospects are doing, it got me thinking. Who is the best offensive prospect in the Dbacks' farm system? Is it Marc Krauss? Paul Goldschmidt? Brandon Allen? Or Matt Davidson?

Going into today, Mark Krauss sports a BA/OBP/SLG of 332/392/551, with 21 doubles, 3 triples, and 14 home runs. He has a 31:72 walk to strike out ratio. He's in the middle of 16 game hitting streak, and in the last 10 games he's batting 535/545/953 with 6 doubles and 4 HRs. Yeah, he's only drawn one walk in those 10 games, but that doesn't really matter when you've been hitting like Krauss. If he continues hitting like he has, he could finish the year in Mobile, and could be in the Majors some time next year, with no one really in his way in left field besides Gerardo Parra, Cole Gillespie, and Rusty Ryal. Not to mention there's no one in the minors ahead of him on the depth chart.

Matt Davidson is probably the furthest from the majors of the four players in this discussion, but he is batting 288/371/486 with 23 doubles, a triple, and 10 hrs. He has a 28:75 walk to strike out ratio, that was brought down by a month where he only drew one walk. Davidson has argueably been the best player on a loaded South Bend roster.

Brandon Allen is the closest of the players in the discussion, and should be the starting first basemen for the Dbacks next season, or as soon as Adam LaRoche is traded. In addition to being the closest to the majors, he also has the best strike out to walk ratio out at 42:49. Brandon Allen's season really only started in June, as he was suffering with a shoulder injury in April and May. He had an awesome June where he batted 329/487/659 with 6 doubles, 2 triples, and 6 home runs. In the last 10 games, he's batting 286/340/595 with 4 doubles and 3 homers. On the season he's batting 260/399/495 with 12 doubles, two triples, and 10 HRs.

Paul Goldschmidt has clearly the most power out of all the players in this group, but also has the most strikeouts. Goldschmidt is batting 298/351/582 with 24 doubles, a triple, and 22 homers, which is tied for the most in all of the minors. His power is no mirage, as he hit 334/408/638 last season with 27 doubles, 3 triples, and 18 homers in 287 at bats. The one area of concern for Goldschmidt is his 28:94 walk to strike out ratio, which is worse than his 36:74 mark from last season. If Brandon Allen doesn't pan out, Goldschmidt is the next in line to get a stab at first base.

So who do you think is the best offensive prospect in the Dbacks Minors?

Update on Allen, Krauss, Miley, Smith

Brandon Allen continues his hot hitting, going 2-4 with a double and his 9th homer of the year. On the week he's hitting .324/.425/.765 with 3 doubles, 4 homers, and a 4:7 K:BB ratio.

Marc Krauss continued his hot hitting as well, going 4-4 with a double and his 12th homer. He raised his batting average 12 points from 300 to 312. He also had his first stolen base of the year. On the week, he's hitting .500/512/952.

Wade Miley threw 7 innings, allowing only one run, and striking out 5. He did allow 4 hits and 5 walks though. One thing worth noting is his 2.85 groundball to fly ball ratio between Visalia and Mobile. What's even more amazing is his 8.67 groundball to fly ball ratio in Mobile. I'll probably end up taking a look at Miley sometime in the near future. On the season, Miley has a 2.86 ERA with 63:43 K:BB ratio. He's allowed a total of one HR in 94.1 innings.

Eric Smith went 6 innings, giving up one run, and striking out 9. He didn't walk any batters, and only gave up 4 hits. On the season, Smith is 5-3 with a 2.64 ERA and a 61:23 K:BB ratio. He's allowed 3 HRS in 75 IP.

Brandon Allen

As I mentioned earlier today, Brandon Allen is hitting .321/.468/617 with five doubles, two triples, five home runs, and a 25:21 BB:K ratio in June. On the year he's hitting 259/411/488 with 10 doubles, two triples, eight home runs and a 41:43 K:BB ratio in year where he's missed time due to a shoulder injury.

What's amazing about Allen's year is the improved plate discipline. His batting average is 65 points lower than it was in his stint in Reno last year, but his on base percentage is only two points lower than last year. That's a direct result of his increased walk rate. He's walked 41 times this year in 166 at bats. Last year in Reno, he walked 20 times in 145 at bats. His strike-outs are up a bit though, with 43, compared to 25 last year.

Another amazing thing is how much Allen's numbers are brought down by his poor April and May. He had only 85 at bats in April and May, and they were pretty piss poor with a 757 OPS in April, and a .305 OPS in May, although he only had 11 at bats in May.

I think it's safe to trade LaRoche if Allen continues to hit well in Reno. I think he might even be worth calling up before that happens so he can play left field as well as spell Laroche at first on occasion. He's played 13 games in left field this season and 36 at first.

Random Updates

Diogenes Rosario pitched 5 scoreless innings for South Bend, striking out 3, while walking four.

Kevin Eichhorn went 6.0 innings, giving up 2 runs on 3 hits and 3 walks, while striking out 3. He earned his first win of the year. He lowered his ERA down to

Wagner Mateo hit his second home run of the year. He's hitting 250/351/464 with eight doubles, two triples, and two home runs. He's got seven stolen bases in eight attempts. He's got a solid 13:22 BB:K ratio.

Brandon Allen is hitting .321/.468/617 with five doubles, two triples, five home runs, and a 25:21 BB:K ratio in June. On the year he's hitting 259/411/488 with 10 doubles, two triples, eight home runs and a 41:43 K:BB ratio in an injury shortened year. I'll probably do a post about Brandon Allen soon.

Collin Cowgill hit his 7th home run of the year. On the year he's hitting 288/360/452 with 23 doubles, two triples, and seven home runs. He's got 14 stolen bases, but he's been caught stealing 8 times. His walk to strike out ratio is 29:43.