Another team's prospects thread

[matcohen]

I think that the Yanks are a year or 2 from top 10. You need 4 or more top 100 prospects for that. We only have 3
Hughes
Tabata
Clippard (maybe)

everyone else is 100-200
Cox - only Tier 1 relivers make it
Gardner - no power
Duncan - has slipped
Corona - limited power and a bit young


There are a lot of guys to be excited about
Betances
Greenwood
Sardinha
Stephens
Reyes
Kontos
Norton
Kennedy
Nova
Bruney
Montero
G-Rod
Abraham Almonte

but they are MOSTLY young and unproven at anything above rookie ball or have limited good results at higher levels.

Next year could be interesting if some of these guys perform well at low A.

[matcohen]

Just looked at this again.
Objectively, our position player prospects are fairly dreadful.

1-100
Hughes 20 SP AA
Clippard 21 SP AA
Tabata 18 OF low A

101-200
Cox, J Brent 22 RP AA
Duncan, Eric 21 1B AA

201-300
Bruney, Brian 24 RP ML
Veras, Jose 25 RP ML
Corona, Reegie 19 2B Hi A
Gardner, Brett 23 OF AA

Watch
Marquez, Jeff 22 SP hi A
Garcia, Christian 21 SP low A
Gomez, Abel 21 SP low A
Stephens, Jason 21 SP low A
Medina, Gabe 22 SP low A
Kennedy, Ian 21 SP SI
Kontos, George 21 SP SI
Reyes, Angel 19 SP SI
Betances, Dellin 18 SP GCL
Nova, Ivan 19 SP GCL
Santos, Andres 19 SP DSL

Wordekemper, ERic 23 RP AA
Ramirez, Edwar 25 RP hi A
Peterson, Nick 21 RP SI
Ortiz, Jhonathan 20 RP DSL

Greenwood, J 23 C hi A

Rodriguez, G 18 C GCL
Montero, Jesus 16 C
Dionicio, Andres 18 1B DSL
Pino, Wilmer 20 2B SI
Almonte, Abraham 17 2B DSL
Cuello, Prylis 17 2B DSL
Sardinha, Bronson 23 OF AAA

[geodork]

Just looked at this again.
Objectively, our position player prospects are fairly dreadful.

I don't even know where to start on this list. Ummm ... I guess at the most egregious oversight ... Where is Jackson on your list? 5-tool CF is clearly in the top 100-200, might even sneak into the top 100. How about Gardner in the top 200-300, but more likely in the top 100-200. CF with speed and is a slap hitter, ceiling of someone like Knoblauch, has to be on the list. Even lesser 4th - 5th type OF's like Christian or Thompson should be on the list. Where are Ehlers, Nunez, and Vech? Ehlers is slightly old for the league he was in, and Nunez and Vech had numbers lower than they (and we) would like, but they still have to make the list based on previous performance and potential alone. How about the SS guys like Curtis, Cervelli, Pino, and Hilligoss? Also, missing from the pitcher side are Karstens (still is a prospect, won't be an official rook after this season), White, Wright, and McCutchen, with the second tier guys like Brett Smith and Alan Horne at least in the discussion.

Yeah ... the position players are not up to the quality level and depth of the pitchers, but they are far from dreadful. That is just an unncessary and unfounded statement. You, and anyone else, are entitled to their opinion, but clearly, your opinion is not fact. But hey ... maybe your list will spark discussion, it definitely got my brain working early this AM in the pre-coffee hours.

[mbn007]

I think that the Yanks are a year or 2 from top 10. You need 4 or more top 100 prospects for that. We only have 3
Hughes
Tabata
Clippard (maybe)

everyone else is 100-200
Cox - only Tier 1 relivers make it
Gardner - no power
Duncan - has slipped
Corona - limited power and a bit young


There are a lot of guys to be excited about
Betances
Greenwood
Sardinha
Stephens
Reyes
Kontos
Norton
Kennedy
Nova
Bruney
Montero
G-Rod
Abraham Almonte

but they are MOSTLY young and unproven at anything above rookie ball or have limited good results at higher levels.

Next year could be interesting if some of these guys perform well at low A.

Errrrrrrrrrr......................

Bruney is already in the Bronx. In fact, he is almost unhittable these days. Karstens is also in NY, and doing OK. He struggled with Baldelli last night, but handled the rest of teh Tampa squad quite fine. I do not see Rasner on your list, and he is also doing quite well in NY.

2 years ago, you probably would not have had Wang, Cano or Melky on list above 200. Last year you would have had Melky below 200 also.

[bmxstreetrider86]

I think that the Yanks are a year or 2 from top 10. You need 4 or more top 100 prospects for that. We only have 3
Hughes
Tabata
Clippard (maybe)

i think your selling some guys short there

hughes and tabata are top 25 prospects, elite guys

duncan, when healthy, made great strides this year. i think he will still make the top 100 because of the power that he flashed and his improved strike-zone judgement

austin jackson might get on the top 100 too, he has all the tools, and he has held his own despite being a teenager in full season ball, as well as it being his first year focusing soley baseball

i dont think that clippard makes the BA top 100, i believe he should and at worst is a just missed

thats 5 potential top 100 guys

[Tony53]

I think we have a top ten system for pitchers and a bottom ten for position players, averaging out to about 12-14, up from 17 this past season.

[matcohen]

I don't even know where to start on this list. Ummm ... I guess at the most egregious oversight ... Where is Jackson on your list? 5-tool CF is clearly in the top 100-200, might even sneak into the top 100.

Jackson hit with no power this year. Top prospects typically display at least some power. He also hit only .260. Tools are nice but performance is where the rubber meets the road.

[matcohen]

How about Gardner in the top 200-300, but more likely in the top 100-200. CF with speed and is a slap hitter, ceiling of someone like Knoblauch, has to be on the list.

Agree = I missed him and amended the list.

[matcohen]

Christian or Thompson should be on the list.

Christian is 26 and can't get on base enough
Thompson is 26 and can't hit that well.

These guys are a dime a dozen

[matcohen]

Where are Ehlers, Nunez, and Vech? Ehlers is slightly old for the league he was in, and Nunez and Vech had numbers lower than they (and we) would like, but they still have to make the list based on previous performance and potential alone.

Ehlers - 24 year old 1B at high A? Not a prospect
Nunez - 19 good age but no sample size.
Vech - 20 - hit .235 with no power - won't make it as a corner infielder.

[matcohen]

How about the SS guys like Curtis, Cervelli, Pino, and Hilligoss?

Curtis - 21 is old for this league and doesn't hit for power.
Cervelli - yes - should add
Pino - yes should add
Hilligoss - no power

[matcohen]

Also, missing from the pitcher side are Karstens (still is a prospect, won't be an official rook after this season), White, Wright, and McCutchen, with the second tier guys like Brett Smith and Alan Horne at least in the discussion.

Karstens - yes should add
White - too old, low k's
Snith - 23 - old for hi A
Horne - 23 - old for hi A and crappy ERAh - could add him
WRight - old for hi A - good ERA though
McCutcheon - way old for low A

[matcohen]

Errrrrrrrrrr......................


Bruney is already in the Bronx. In fact, he is almost unhittable these days. Karstens is also in NY, and doing OK. He struggled with Baldelli last night, but handled the rest of teh Tampa squad quite fine. I do not see Rasner on your list, and he is also doing quite well in NY.

2 years ago, you probably would not have had Wang, Cano or Melky on list above 200. Last year you would have had Melky below 200 also.

Bruney - still a prospect though as he doesnt have enough ML time.
Rasner - yeah - maybe a borderline 300 prospect

Re Wang, Cano and Melky
Melky - I was high on - he was 21 at AAA.
Wang and Cano - no on ehas perfect foresight - Wang was so-so in minors as was Cano. They came out of nowhere a bit.

[matcohen]

hughes and tabata are top 25 prospects, elite guys

duncan, when healthy, made great strides this year. i think he will still make the top 100 because of the power that he flashed and his improved strike-zone judgement

austin jackson might get on the top 100 too, he has all the tools, and he has held his own despite being a teenager in full season ball, as well as it being his first year focusing soley baseball

i dont think that clippard makes the BA top 100, i believe he should and at worst is a just missed

thats 5 potential top 100 guys

Hughes and Tabata are top 25
Duncan - regressed, low BA - lots of better hitters than him at his age now. NO way he makes top 100.
Jackson - has not displayed power and hit only .260. Are beter hitters than him at that age.
Clippard - agree he is around 100 hit hit or miss.

[bmxstreetrider86]

Hughes and Tabata are top 25
Duncan - regressed, low BA - lots of better hitters than him at his age now. NO way he makes top 100.
Jackson - has not displayed power and hit only .260. Are beter hitters than him at that age.
Clippard - agree he is around 100 hit hit or miss.

how can you say duncan regressed? thats a pretty folish statement. heGREATLY improved his K/BB ratio, and flashed his plus power when he was healthy. how many 21 year olds had a season where they significantly improved as much as duncan did in AA? he was also injured and has excellent power. there is a significant chance he makes the top 100

jackson is 19 and holding his own in full season ball, he hasnt hit for a ton of power yet, but he has like 40 SB, and walks a ton. not alot of hitters had better years than him except the elite guys down there, like maybin, upton, bruce.

heres john manuels take on those 2:

Duncan probably is still a Top 100 prospect, and Austin Jackson might be

[matcohen]

I think we have a top ten system for pitchers and a bottom ten for position players, averaging out to about 12-14, up from 17 this past season.

I'd agree with that.

We have really not done a good job on position players for the most part. A ton of pitchers that have pitched well so far at lower levels - could have quite the crop of pitching prospects in a few years.

[matcohen]

how can you say duncan regressed? thats a pretty folish statement. heGREATLY improved his K/BB ratio, and flashed his plus power when he was healthy. how many 21 year olds had a season where they significantly improved as much as duncan did in AA? he was also injured and has excellent power. there is a significant chance he makes the top 100

jackson is 19 and holding his own in full season ball, he hasnt hit for a ton of power yet, but he has like 40 SB, and walks a ton. not alot of hitters had better years than him except the elite guys down there, like maybin, upton, bruce.

heres john manuels take on those 2:

Duncan probably is still a Top 100 prospect, and Austin Jackson might be

ok regressed is a strong word - he was marginally better at AA after bombing at AAA.

He hit .248. That stinks. He is a 1B - his job is to hit. Top 100? You could come up with 100 better prospects falling off a log.

[matcohen]

jackson is 19 and holding his own in full season ball, he hasnt hit for a ton of power yet, but he has like 40 SB, and walks a ton. not alot of hitters had better years than him except the elite guys down there, like maybin, upton, bruce.

heres john manuels take on those 2:

Duncan probably is still a Top 100 prospect, and Austin Jackson might be

Jackson is an OF who does not hit for power and only hit .260. Not a top prospect.

[kan_t]

Curtis - 21 is old for this league and doesn't hit for power.

I wonder how many players in SS are younger or older than Curtis.

Duncan - regressed, low BA - lots of better hitters than him at his age now. NO way he makes top 100.

20 years old in AA: .235/.324/.408, XB% 35%, SO% 30%
21 years old in AA: .248/.349/.485, XB% 53%, SO% 18%

Sure he is only marginally better at AA and we should take his AAA number seriously.

Vech - 20 - hit .235 with no power - won't make it as a corner infielder.

I think only you will say that a 20 years old guy who hit .255/.352/.386 in low-A has no power.

[mhmajp]

Jackson is an OF who does not hit for power and only hit .260. Not a top prospect.

He's not a corner OF, he's a CF.

[bmxstreetrider86]

Jackson is an OF who does not hit for power and only hit .260. Not a top prospect.

that is the dumbest thing i have ever read. he is easily one of our top 10 prospects and he is possibly a top 100 prospect. he is19! what do you expect him to hit? he should be in his first year of college

[uconnyankee]

You are selling Jackson short big time. His body is filling out still so saying he is not a top prospect is unfair.

[Steph19]

Future possible success does not a top 100 prospect make.

Yes, Jackson is young, still filling out, very raw, etc, etc... but until he sharpens up, he's probably not a top-100 guy.

As for a top-10 Yankee guy, however, I'd say definitely.

[DownFromNJ]

I have to agree. We are not top ten, yet.

We have two bonafide blue chip prospects in Tabata and Hughes. We have a very good pitcher in Clippard. We have a top reliever in Cox, and a potential hitter in Duncan. Tabata and Hughes are top-3 at their position, but the others lag behind.

What we have is the potential to be top-5 or better. Our last three seasons of player development have been overwhelmingly excellent. The following prospects have the potential to become top-100 prospects next year:

Jesus Montero
Dellin Betances
Ian Kennedy
Joba Chamberlain
Austin Jackson
George Kontos (I'm a fan)
Mark Melancon
Jeff Marquez
Christian Garcia

That is a very solid group. They could have more potential than any organization in baseball. If only three or four of them work out, we still have 3-4 top 100 prospects in them.

Of course, the system will be significantly less impressive with the graduation of Phil Hughes next year, but we have four potential pitchers (Kennedy, Chamberlain, Marquez, Garcia) who could be tearing up AA next year.

I'd say that things are looking up, but top-10 is a year away.

[BomberBrian]

Seriously, I am on the verge of throwing my computer out the window.

[BlueStrawberry]

Seriously, I am on the verge of throwing my computer out the window.

Why? . . .

[spiritof27]

Why? . . .

I'm assuming it's the idiocy of the ridiculous poster in this thread.

[Tom Finnigan]

I think there is way too much emphasis on getting on BA's top ten list. It's the worst thing that ever happened to player development. BA is poison when it comes to "guessing" on who is a can't miss prospect. They are almost always wrong. What happened to Brandon Wood this year? Last year he was Cal Ripken JR. What about Cano, Wang, and Melky? Do you think the Yankees brass were unaware of their potential? I seriously doubt it. They were missed by BA because they are not from the US. BA tends to lean towards US made prospects unless they are Montero types. Lastly, pay attention to a players age and the level of ball he is playing. It speaks wonders as to his potential. That's why guys like Pino are sleepers that BA will miss until he is right on their grill. As for the Duncan argument, he has a long way to go and I bet he will be nowhere near the top 100 (especially when BA sees a Yankee down they LOVE to kick him).

[Philip Hughes Fan]

I think there is way too much emphasis on getting on BA's top ten list. It's the worst thing that ever happened to player development. BA is poison when it comes to "guessing" on who is a can't miss prospect. They are almost always wrong. What happened to Brandon Wood this year? Last year he was Cal Ripken JR. What about Cano, Wang, and Melky? Do you think the Yankees brass were unaware of their potential? I seriously doubt it. They were missed by BA because they are not from the US. BA tends to lean towards US made prospects unless they are Montero types. Lastly, pay attention to a players age and the level of ball he is playing. It speaks wonders as to his potential. That's why guys like Pino are sleepers that BA will miss until he is right on their grill. As for the Duncan argument, he has a long way to go and I bet he will be nowhere near the top 100 (especially when BA sees a Yankee down they LOVE to kick him).

Ummm, what's your point about Wood? You do realize he had a really good year, and did basically what BA thought he would, right?

If the Yankees were aware of it why would they be willing to include Cano's name on a list with the likes of Rudy Guillen, Joaquin Arias, etc. for the Rangers to pick from? Why would they be willing to have parted with Cano and/or Wang for less than half a season of Beltran? Why could the D-Backs have had Wang in the RJ deal with no problem?

Where's any evidence that BA has an anti-Yankees bias?

[Tom Finnigan]

Brandon Wood had a really good year? He was in a hitters league (Texas) and struck out a gazillion times. There are holes in his game - SS is not where he will wind up. Last year BA had him as one of the top minor league players. Is he still a sure thing? NO. Is he a top ten prospect now? NO.

As for Yankee Haters at BA. I'll let BA explain how the Yankees go from almost the worst minor league team to a middle of the pack team IN ONE YEAR!

That is impossible.

[destiNY]

Jackson is an OF who does not hit for power and only hit .260. Not a top prospect.

Not yet...but he is projected to be one for sure.

[smorfus]

Brandon Wood had a really good year? He was in a hitters league (Texas) and struck out a gazillion times. There are holes in his game - SS is not where he will wind up. Last year BA had him as one of the top minor league players. Is he still a sure thing? NO. Is he a top ten prospect now? NO.

As for Yankee Haters at BA. I'll let BA explain how the Yankees go from almost the worst minor league team to a middle of the pack team IN ONE YEAR!

That is impossible.

Brandon Wood definitely is still a top 10 prospect, probably even in the top 5. He has tremendous power potential, and although he probably wont stay at ss because of Erick Aybar, he has the ability to play there.

I really dont see where your going with the yankee haters at BA thing. They went from 24th to 17th over one year. That just screams BA hates the Yankees

[IrishYankee]

It not rankings that causes people to think BA has a bias. Its the way most of their writers handle questions from Yankee fans. they usually manage to take a sarcastic swipe at the organization, even when complimenting a prospect. A lot of that is because of stupid questions, but there are obvious examples where this is not the case too.
Also, they've badly underestimated several of our prospects. But thats the nature of scouting.

[Tom Finnigan]

The question and answer sessions that you speak of only serve to raise doubt about their bias. It is the smoking gun that makes me wonder why they rank the Yankees at the bottom of the talent ratings, yet the Yankees produce ML quality players. The pattern has been to trade them to other teams, and if you look around the majors you will find them on someone else's roster (Willy Mo Pena, etc). A 24th ranked team does not produce in this way, so something is not right at BA. Badly underestimating their talent translates into getting the word out that their farm system is barren. And that is my point - BA is not objective when it comes to the Yankees.

[smorfus]

The question and answer sessions that you speak of only serve to raise doubt about their bias. It is the smoking gun that makes me wonder why they rank the Yankees at the bottom of the talent ratings, yet the Yankees produce ML quality players. The pattern has been to trade them to other teams, and if you look around the majors you will find them on someone else's roster (Willy Mo Pena, etc). A 24th ranked team does not produce in this way, so something is not right at BA. Badly underestimating their talent translates into getting the word out that their farm system is barren. And that is my point - BA is not objective when it comes to the Yankees.

BA doesn't rank teams based on players theyve traded away, they rank them based on who is still in the system. When they ranked the Yanks 24th, they deserved that ranking, because the system was really not that good. Now the Yankees do have more depth, and high end talent, with the emergence or staying healthy of Hughes and Tabata. BA has underrated some of their prospects a little, but I don't think anyone, not even the Yankees brass could have predicted that they Cano, Wang, and Cabrera would be as good as theyve been.

[Philip Hughes Fan]

Brandon Wood had a really good year? He was in a hitters league (Texas) and struck out a gazillion times. There are holes in his game - SS is not where he will wind up. Last year BA had him as one of the top minor league players. Is he still a sure thing? NO. Is he a top ten prospect now? NO.

As for Yankee Haters at BA. I'll let BA explain how the Yankees go from almost the worst minor league team to a middle of the pack team IN ONE YEAR!

That is impossible.

He had over a .900 OPS at a perfectly reasonable age for the league while showing some of the best power potential in the minors and decent patience. I have big concerns about his strikeout rate and whether he'll ever be able to perform at an elite level in the majors, but nothing he has done this year would make someone that believed in him last year stop believing in him this year. I'd look at him as a poor man's Adam Dunn, and assuming it's not too poor, that would be an incredible player assuming he's above average defensively at 3B.

As for BA, the Yankees sucked before because Tabata wasn't in our system and Hughes had pitched like 7 innings in rookie league. We didn't have Christian Garcia, had traded Navarro, and Cano looked like he wasn't ready with his struggles in AAA. We moved up in the rankings because our farm system improved, and if there was some bias, why would BA upgrade the Yankees farm system so much?

[Tom Finnigan]

Brandon Wood struck out 149 times in a hitters league (490+ AB's, Texas League). I don't think we need to do the math on those numbers. What's bad for Brandon is that he faces decreasing power numbers as he moves into "real" ballparks and better pitching. His numbers this year do not scream top prospect, yet the year before BA sounded like a school girl with a crush.
If he's a poor mans Adam Dunn, than Stoneman should have traded him for a player that could haved help him get in to the playoffs. Unfortunately for Bill, he listens to BA too much, and overvalued his players.
My beef with BA is that they admire certain GM's and scouts like Stoneman, and wear their admiration on their baseball sleeves. I would conjecture that they think Steinbrenner is the baseball antichrist, and thus reduce decent Yankee prospects into non-existent ones. That's why they rate the Yankees 24th. The year this ranking was made, the Yankees had much more talent than BA admitted. I could list the players in the system at that time, but why waste my time. Many of the responses here seem to come from BA itself.

[smorfus]

Brandon Wood struck out 149 times in a hitters league (490+ AB's, Texas League). I don't think we need to do the math on those numbers. What's bad for Brandon is that he faces decreasing power numbers as he moves into "real" ballparks and better pitching. His numbers this year do not scream top prospect, yet the year before BA sounded like a school girl with a crush.
If he's a poor mans Adam Dunn, than Stoneman should have traded him for a player that could haved help him get in to the playoffs. Unfortunately for Bill, he listens to BA too much, and overvalued his players.
My beef with BA is that they admire certain GM's and scouts like Stoneman, and wear their admiration on their baseball sleeves. I would conjecture that they think Steinbrenner is the baseball antichrist, and thus reduce decent Yankee prospects into non-existent ones. That's why they rate the Yankees 24th. The year this ranking was made, the Yankees had much more talent than BA admitted. I could list the players in the system at that time, but why waste my time. Many of the responses here seem to come from BA itself.

Why would any GM want to trade someone with 40 homer potential that plays a premium position in shortstop? Even if he strikes out 150 times a year any team would take that. Do you know how many 40 homer shortstops we have in the majors right now? Zero

In 2005, when BA ranked the Yankees system 24th, their top ten looked like this:
1. Eric Duncan, 3b (potential solid everyday player)
2. Robinson Cano, 2b (pretty good everyday player)
3. Philip Hughes, rhp (hadn't proven anything yet)
4. Steven White, rhp (5th starter at best)
5. Dioner Navarro, c (solid, but not spectacular catcher)
6. Christian Garcia, rhp (loads of potential, but still learning to pitch)
7. Marcos Vechionacci, inf (lots of potential, but still hasnt had a breakout year)
8. Melky Cabrera, of (solid everyday player, very good 4th OF)
9. Bronson Sardinha, 3b/of (who knows)
10. Chien-Ming Wang, rhp (no one could predict him to pitch the way he has)

That is not a very good top ten, most of those guys didn't breakout until after the list had been made.

[DaYanks4Life]

He will not stay at shortstop but he has HUGE potential with the bat and I won't worry about the K's too much after all he is only 21-22 yrs old. The guy is a stud no doubt.

[DaYanks4Life]

My beef with BA is that they admire certain GM's and scouts like Stoneman, and wear their admiration on their baseball sleeves. I would conjecture that they think Steinbrenner is the baseball antichrist, and thus reduce decent Yankee prospects into non-existent ones. That's why they rate the Yankees 24th. The year this ranking was made, the Yankees had much more talent than BA admitted. I could list the players in the system at that time, but why waste my time.

I have to agree with this.

[DaYanks4Life]

In 2005, when BA ranked the Yankees system 24th, their top ten looked like this:
1. Eric Duncan, 3b (potential solid everyday player)
2. Robinson Cano, 2b (pretty good everyday player)
3. Philip Hughes, rhp (hadn't proven anything yet)
4. Steven White, rhp (5th starter at best)
5. Dioner Navarro, c (solid, but not spectacular catcher)
6. Christian Garcia, rhp (loads of potential, but still learning to pitch)
7. Marcos Vechionacci, inf (lots of potential, but still hasnt had a breakout year)
8. Melky Cabrera, of (solid everyday player, very good 4th OF)
9. Bronson Sardinha, 3b/of (who knows)
10. Chien-Ming Wang, rhp (no one could predict him to pitch the way he has)

That is not a very good top ten, most of those guys didn't breakout until after the list had been made.

If your in the business of evaluating potential, then they should have ranked the potential of this group better than 24th. Out of this list there are 4 big league regulars and others than haven't even tapped their potential or on the verge of being ready. That is a good Top 10 list for 2 years ago.

[smorfus]

He will not stay at shortstop but he has HUGE potential with the bat and I won't worry about the K's too much after all he is only 21-22 yrs old. The guy is a stud no doubt.

I've heard from people at BA, I believe it was Jim Callis, that Wood has the ability to stay at shortstop, but wont unless Erick Aybar is traded.

[smorfus]

If your in the business of evaluating potential, then they should have ranked the potential of this group better than 24th. Out of this list there are 4 big league regulars and others than haven't even tapped their potential or on the verge of being ready. That is a good Top 10 list for 2 years ago.

Out of that list, none of those guys played exceptionally well. None of them had broken out yet. If you based the list on potential alone, then I agree that it should be ranked higher than 24th, but none of those guys had shown much of their potential at that point.

[spiritof27]

I don't see what striking out has to do with the Texas League being a hitter's league. Is is not the parks that make it a hitter's league? If you can't make contact, it's not going to help you. I'm admitting that I don't know why it's considered a hitter's league. So I'm just putting this out there.

As far as Wood vs. Aybar, I think Wood is the better prospect, so I'm not sure why they would move Wood for Aybar. Why not showcase Aybar until Wood is ready and then deal him? They're stacked with the Wood/Aybar/Kendrick trifecta up the middle.

[bmxstreetrider86]

I don't see what striking out has to do with the Texas League being a hitter's league. Is is not the parks that make it a hitter's league? If you can't make contact, it's not going to help you. I'm admitting that I don't know why it's considered a hitter's league. So I'm just putting this out there.

As far as Wood vs. Aybar, I think Wood is the better prospect, so I'm not sure why they would move Wood for Aybar. Why not showcase Aybar until Wood is ready and then deal him? They're stacked with the Wood/Aybar/Kendrick trifecta up the middle.

well those leagues generally favor hitters overall, its not just the parks

[DaYanks4Life]

I've heard from people at BA, I believe it was Jim Callis, that Wood has the ability to stay at shortstop, but wont unless Erick Aybar is traded.

I've heard just the opposite from BA and other sources that he will have to move off SS for a lack of range but that bat will play almost anywhere else except C and CF.

[DaYanks4Life]

Out of that list, none of those guys played exceptionally well. None of them had broken out yet. If you based the list on potential alone, then I agree that it should be ranked higher than 24th, but none of those guys had shown much of their potential at that point.

Not really, they just flat out got it wrong. BA is notorious for rating potential over performance and they under-estimated the talent in the organization for reasons I can only speculate. Most likely because they trade all there prospects away in favor of vets and didn't appy themselves to developing talent. That "perception" is probably what did it.

I remember reading Cano will never stay at 2B, has average power for 3rd but will never hit for average and not a long term answer. Now former 2B gold glove winner, Yankee coach and Cano mentor Larry Bowa expects him to win a gold glove in the future. He is in the running to win a batting title, developing power and makes consistent contact. Melky was a 4th OF'er and as an outsider I can understand that but I was a huge supporter of Melky since he was in SI based on his performance for someone so young and the comments made about him by the people that knew him best (the evaluators that signed and instructed him). Wang wasn't expected to be much but he had the best rated fastball in the system with an average slider and change at that point. He never pitched at any A ball level, jumping to AA and was shuned when he didn't perform after having arm surgery. They messed up and none of them will admit fault for reasons beyond me, to this day they still defend the projections. BIAS.......

[Tom Finnigan]

Striking out and being in the Texas League have nothing to do with each other. But, taken individually they present two knocks on someone who BA had no bad words about a year ago. He may have no position, he strikes out a lot, and it's only going to get tougher (Easy Leagues - Cal & Texas). Does that sound like the scouting reports coming out of BA last year? The point is they go way too far with some prospects (that they're sweet on), and underestimate the ones that come from organizations that they do not like. So... If I'm Brian Cashman - I'm making my own lists. To heck with BA's lists, and their top 10/100's.

[bmxstreetrider86]

i have a question, which is very hypothetical but here it is.

the angels approach us and offer a package of ervin santana, brandon wood, and jeff mathis for A-rod. do you do it?

[smorfus]

i have a question, which is very hypothetical but here it is.

the angels approach us and offer a package of ervin santana, brandon wood, and jeff mathis for A-rod. do you do it?

I don't think anyone could turn that down. A really good young pitcher, a potential 40 homer replacement for arod at 3rd, and a solid catcher. Those things are hard to find. But theres no way the Angels would ever put that on the table.