TD's Top Prospects- #23 Pitcher

Posted by Lionel on March 6, 2009.

Esmailin Caridad

Rank: #23 Pitcher (TD), #22 Prospect (BA)
Age: 25
Position(s): SP, RP
Team(s): Daytona, Tennessee
'08 Key Composite Stats: 13-7, 3.73 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 152 innings pitched
Acquired: Signed as a Free Agent (December 2007)
Breakdown: Of all the Cubs top prospects, Caridad took the most interesting route. Prior to '08, he had spent 6 years playing baseball in the low levels of Japanese professional baseball, but made it up to the Hiroshima Carp for 2 appearances in '07. So, 2008 was his first year stateside and in the Cubs organization. He started for all but 1 appearance, but then pitched 10 games in relief in the Arizona Fall League. He split his time evenly between Daytona and Tennessee, but saw much better results in Tennessee. His ERA dropped from 4.41 to 3.16. Of TD's top 25 prospects, Caridad has the highest ERA. His 1.11 WHIP is impressive, as is his 152 innings pitched. The only negatives I see are age and HR's allowed. He is reportedly 25, although there seems to be a little discrepancy, with some reporting he's only 22 or 23. But milb.com and baseball-reference.com give him a birthday of 10/28/83, so we'll stick with him being 25. Granted, he may be able to move up quickly, but it's hard to credit a 25 year old with amazing stats when he's facing Advanced A Ball batters. As for his HR's, he was spectacular at Daytona (3 HR's in 69 innings pitched), but then it jumped to 15 HR's in 82 innings pitched at Tennessee, giving him an overall rating over 1.07 HR's per 9 innings pitched.
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