Today I want to take a look at three rookies, two who broke camp with their teams and one who was called up a week after the season started. All three were highly anticipated by their organizations and all three have since been demoted. Had we not discussed Jon Rauch in yesterday's article, he likely would have been included in today's grouping.

Kurt Ainsworth broke camp as the Giants' #5 starter. After three starts, he was demoted to AAA on April 24th in order to make room for Jason Schmidt's return from the DL.

He pitched fairly well in his three starts, compiling a 9:8 K:BB with 16 hits and no home runs allowed in 16 IP. Ainsworth also did a fairly good job of keeping the ball on the ground with a 27-14 G-F. He was pulled after only 4 innings in his third start, but that was likely due to the fact that his spot in the batting order came up in the bottom of the 4th with two outs and men on 2nd and 3rd, rather than a particularly poor performance on the mound. He completed the 5th and 7th innings respectively in his first two starts.

The Giants drafted Ainsworth out of Louisiana State with the 24th pick in the first round of the 1999 draft. He spent 1999 at A Salem-Keizer in the Northwest League. San Francisco promoted him to AA in 2000, and he spent the full season at Shreveport in the Texas League prior to a fall stint starting on the U.S. Olympic team. Last year he started the season in Fresno of the AAA Pacific Coast League and received a September call-up to the majors. The Giants have done a good job of moving him through the minors at a steady pace without rushing him. At 23, he's reaching the majors right on schedule.

He reportedly has four good pitches; a 91-94 MPH fastball, a curve, a slider, and a change-up. In AAA last season, he had a 2.9 K:BB with 9.5 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 while he held batters to 8.4 H/9. Those ratios look even better when you consider he compiled them in the hitter-friendly environment of the Pacific Coast League. Additionally, John Sickels notes in the STATS, Inc 2002 Minor League Scouting Notebook that "He struggled during the first half, due to a blister and some minor mechanical problems." The blister also helps explain why a pitcher known for his ability to keep the ball on the ground allowed 1.3 HR/9 last season after allowing only .7 HR/9 in AA.

If Schmidt or any other pitcher in the Giants' rotation is placed on the disabled list, I expect Ainsworth to be recalled as their replacement. He could also push Ryan Jensen to the pen. Ainsworth is widely expected to be a future #2 starter, and his skills support that assessment.

Adam Everett broke camp as the Astros' starting shortstop. On April 21st, Everett was demoted to AAA New Orleans. Houston called up Brad Lidge to add another reliever to the pen and gave Julio Lugo the starting job at short.

Everett won the starting job in Spring Training due to his defense. His offense has never been particularly strong, and reportedly the Astros didn't expect much from his bat in the majors. GM Gerry Hunsicker's comments seem to indicate that Everett wasn't sent down because Houston was disappointed in his offense but because the team's needs had changed and they now felt a greater need for skill at the plate as opposed to in the field. In the 37 AB prior to his demotion, Everett had 7 hits, 1 SB and a 6:3 BB:K for a .189 BA, .318 OBP, and .218 SLG. His only extra base hit was a double.

The Red Sox drafted Everett out of the University of South Carolina with the 12th overall pick of the 1998 draft. He spent 1998 at A Lowell in the New York-Pennsylvania League. Boston promoted him to AA Trenton in the Eastern League in 1999. He was traded that December with LHP Greg Miller to Houston for Carl Everett. Everett started the 2000 season at AAA New Orleans in the Pacific Coast League, and aside from joining Ainsworth on the 2000 U.S. Olympic team, remained there through the 2001 season, excepting a September call-up last year.

Prior to last season when he allowed his plate discipline to severely deteriorate, his strike zone judgment showed potential. In AA he managed a .64 BB:K, and that rose to .75 in his first year at AAA before falling to .52 in 2001. His plate discipline needs to rebound and improve in order to utilize his primary offensive asset, a moderate amount of speed. Everett managed to hit 10 HR in the pitcher-friendly Eastern League before hitting only five dingers in each of his seasons in the Pacific Coast League, so he doesn't seem to have much power potential.

His defense has been described as Gold Glove caliber, so he will likely manage to start a few seasons in the majors regardless of whether his offense improves. I don't know if he will receive that chance with the Astros, considering their general focus on position players with above average offense. Given that his offense failed to improve and actually deteriorated when he repeated AAA last season, I doubt whether, at 25, he will benefit from additional time in the minors unless New Orleans has a new hitting instructor. However I expect him to return to the majors by September at the latest and continue to annually compete for the starting shortstop job in Spring Training.

Andres Torres was called up from AAA on April 7th and sent back down again on April 26th. The Tigers promoted Torres due to injuries and we've discussed him briefly in the past in conjunction with other Detroit transactions. Craig Monroe replaced Torres on the roster.

Detroit drafted Torres out of Miami-Dade Community College North with their fourth round pick in the 1998 draft. He spent the 1998 season at A- Jamestown in the New York-Pennsylvania League. In 1999, he placed for A West Michigan in the Midwest League. Torres started the 2000 season at A+ Lakeland in the Florida State League but was briefly called up to AA Jacksonville in the Southern League. The Tigers promoted him to AA Erie in the Eastern League for the 2001 season.

Previous to this season's major league promotion, Torres has not been rushed through the minors. Detroit allowed him to move forward at a comfortable pace and his skills seemed to respond. He's managed at least a .72 BB:K at every level at which he's received more than 50 at-bats, and while he's shown no power skills, he has good speed potential. He's already 24, but considering the slow pace with which he's been advancing through the minors, it was unreasonable for the Tigers to presume he could handle the jump to the majors without any time at AAA.

In his 38 major league at-bats, Torres had 8 hits, including a double and a triple, with a 2:8 BB:K. He should be left down for the remainder of the season, but I expect him to be recalled if he gets hot for a few weeks and Detroit is still having injury problems. Provided his development isn't stunted by a series of unwise promotions and demotions, he could develop into a decent centerfielder with leadoff potential.