Jerry Sands

Sands has spent time with four organizations, but has seen just 46 plate appearances in the big leagues since the end of the 2011 season. Meanwhile, he has accumulated over 1,500 plate appearances in Triple-A and has hit .265/.347/.485 in mostly friendly run environments. He is not a good defender, and is better against lefties than he is against righties. He is Quad-A material, and will likely provide organizational depth after signing with Cleveland. Sands has some pop in his bat, but there are too many holes in it for him to stick at the major league level.

Sands was the player to be named later in the package Los Angeles sent to Boston as part of the Adrian Gonzalez deal, but then was traded from Boston to Pittsburgh in the offseason. He is a power-hitting outfield prospect, who started poorly with the Dodgers last season, was demoted to Triple-A where the struggles continued, and did not recover until the second half of the season. However, he finished strong and hit an impressive .296/.375/.524 with 26 homers and 107 RBI for Triple-A Albuquerque. The Pacific Coast League is batter-friendly, however, and a 59:106 BB:K ratio suggests that there's still work to be done. That said, the right-handed batter hit lefties and righties nearly equally well (.910/.895 OPS). He'll battle for a roster spot at first base and right field with the Pirates in spring training. He offers significant power potential if he can find regular playing time.

Sands has bashed 64 minor league home runs the past two seasons, but after a so-so .253/.338/.389 in 198 big league at-bats last year, he's far from guaranteed a regular spot in the lineup. With the Dodgers out of the race, Sands hit .342/.415/.493 last September, so he has a legitimate chance at 500-plus at-bats in 2012. Consider him a solid sleeper, although he's technically behind James Loney on the depth chart at first base heading into spring training.

We saw hints of a 2009 breakout, but 2010 proved to be Sands' coming-out party as a top prospect. The former 25th-round pick batted a combined .301/.395/.586 between Low-A and Double-A (he skipped High-A entirely) with 35 home runs and 18 stolen bases. Sands has played first base and the outfield in the last couple seasons and was reportedly taking groundballs at third base in the Arizona Fall League, so he's far from settled in terms of a future defensive position. Still, if Sands can continue at this pace in Triple-A this season, the Dodgers will find a spot for him.