I saw Mark Teixeira play in the Arizona Fall League over the weekend.

Grab him if you can. He's every bit as good as his numbers imply. Outstanding bat speed; power to all fields; surprisingly good defense.

Drew Henson, on the other hand, looked terrible with both bat and glove, and I'm increasingly leaning towards the idea that he's just not going to develop.

To the mailbag.

Dave A. writes: Jerome Williams' stock as a premium prospect seems to have gone the same way as the NASDAQ. In the several postseason lists I have seen, he hasn't even been considered a top 20 starter. The kid was 20-years-old this past season, but was one of the best pitchers in the PCL, a good two years ahead of where you would expect to see him.

While he started somewhat slow, he finished quite strong, just like he did in Double-A in 2000. Rather than being overmatched, he's learning to throw a curveball and reports out of the AFL say he is pitching in the mid 90s, leads the league in innings pitched and has yet to give up a run in four appearances. Can you tell me anything else about him?

I've received many questions about Williams lately for some reason. I've mentioned him recently as part of San Francisco's trio of top pitching prospects: Williams, Kurt Ainsworth, and Jesse Foppert, but some of you want a more detailed update about Jerome apparently.

You're not missing anything, Dave. Williams is a good one.

Although Williams' 6-11 record was disappointing, he ranked eighth in the PCL with a 3.59 ERA, allowed just 140 hits in 161 innings, and posted a nice K/BB ratio of 130/50. All while being the youngest regular starting pitcher in Triple-A. Scouts still love him, even if the press has tended to ignore him a bit lately. His velocity is in the 90-93 mph range, his curveball is very sharp, and he's made major strides with his changeup. He throws strikes, has a tremendous aptitude for pitching, and features the kind of "loose arm" and easy delivery that implies a good measure of durability. He is throwing very well in the Arizona Fall League, although I missed out on seeing him this past weekend.

Williams is clearly one of the best pitching prospects in the game. He may suffer from expectations a bit, in the sense that he's been highly touted and has yet to break through in the majors. But like I said, he's very young, physically talented, intelligent, and pitching well.

A.M. asks: In the infamous Carlos Pena trade this past spring, probably the most overlooked player in the deal was Gerald Laird, who came over to the Rangers. He had a nice season offensively in the Texas League, particularly for a 22-year-old catcher, and he seems to have gotten rave reviews for his defense. How does Laird project? Does he have a future in the majors as an everyday catcher, possibly as soon as 2003?

Laird hit .276/.343/.416 for Double-A Tulsa this year, contributing 11 homers, 21 doubles, and 45 walks. He's mainly a line-drive hitter right now, though he's big enough to hit for a decent amount of power once he matures physically. He will turn 23 on Nov. 13, although he may have more physical projection left than some hitters his age. He runs well for a catcher, and is a good overall athlete. His strike zone judgment is OK; not great, but not awful. His development hasn't been overly rapid, at least partially due to nagging injuries (a common problem among catchers), but he did make progress this year.

Laird's defense is quite good, enough to get him to the major leagues by itself, even if his bat doesn't develop. At the least he'll be a decent reserve catcher, but whether or not he becomes a regular depends on how his bat develops. At this point, I wouldn't hazard a guess about his bat. If you stuck him in the majors now, he'd probably hit .250, albeit with little in the way of power or patience contributions. He certainly has the raw ability to do better than that, but many young catchers fail to develop offensively. At worst, he'll be a right-handed hitting Brent Mayne.

B. writes: I was wondering what you thought of Josh Phelps in Toronto. In just 74 games this year he had 15 homers and 59 RBI. Over a full season that would be about 40 homers and 120 RBI. That's pretty good for a 24 year old. Is he for real?

Phelps did exactly what his minor-league numbers suggested he would do: hit for a ton of power, strike out a lot, and generally scare the hell out of pitchers. He ranked second on the Blue Jays with a .925 OPS, behind Carlos Delgado at .955. Is Phelps for real? Well, sure. I don't think he'll hit .309 all the time; he has holes in his swing that pitchers will exploit soon enough. He can be overaggressive, and would benefit by developing some additional selectivity at the plate. But his power production is absolutely genuine, no question. There may be a few growing pains in '03, but I fully expect Phelps to be one of the most dangerous power hitters in baseball over the next 10 years.

Dan asks: In your mailbag on Oct. 31 you had this to say about Stanford pitchers:

Stanford pitchers have a mixed track record in the pros. For every Mike Mussina, there's a Jeff Austin and Kyle Peterson.

What's your feeling about Kansas City's decision to move Jeff Austin to the bullpen? He pitched OK last year at Triple-A. He pitched 52 innings in 39 appearances, which seems to indicate they were trying him out in a short-man role. Do you think he has the makeup to close? I can't see Kansas City re-signing free agent closer Roberto Hernandez, and somebody has to save what few wins the Royals will get.

The Royals have a lot of weaknesses, but one of their strengths is an intriguing group of young relievers: Austin, Ryan Bukvich, Jeremy Hill, Brad Voyles. Since moving to the bullpen in the spring of '01, Austin has pitched considerably better than he did as a starter, improving his numbers in all categories. His best pitch has always been his curveball, but his fastball is better in the bullpen. As a starter, he worked at 88-90, but in relief he often throws 92-93. You would have to say that the conversion was successful.

I don't think they see him as a potential closer at this point, or at least he's behind some of the other guys on the depth chart. Austin is one of those guys who throws strikes, but occasionally lacks command within the strike zone. He grooves pitches too often down the middle. If he can solve that problem, sharpen his command just a bit more, he could be a very successful pitcher. Whether that happens in '03, '05, or never at all remains to be seen.

Ken T. writes: Is Phillies first base slugger Ryan Howard a real prospect? His numbers at Class A Lakewood were good, and I saw him hit a couple of long home runs.

Howard was a fifth-round pick in 2001. I saw him play for Southwest Missouri State, and he certainly has a ton of raw power in his bat. He hit .280/.367/.460 this year, hitting 19 homers and driving in 87 runs, while playing in a pitcher's park. He is physically imposing at 6-4, 220, and he can crush any pitch he gets in his wheelhouse.

I'm not convinced that he will thrive at the highest levels, however. First, he fanned 145 times while drawing just 55 unintentional walks this year. I try not to worry too much about strikeouts, but that's a lot of whiffs for a college-trained player in the Sally League.

Howard tends to chase and miss high fastballs. He turns 23 on Nov. 19, so he was not young for his level, either. I want to see how he manages the strike zone at higher levels before going overboard with a strong recommendation. There is power here, plus athleticism and decent defense, but it is too early to call him a top prospect.

John Sickels is the author of the 2002 STATS Minor League Scouting Notebook. He is currently writing a biography of Bob Feller. He lives in Lawrence, Kansas, with his wife, son, and two cats. You can send John questions or comments at JASickels@aol.com, or you can visit his homepage at johnsickels.com.