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I'm looking for a ranking of these minor league starters that I've picked up on my Scoresheet roster.  Pardon the fantasy-ish subject of this post, but I'm trying to decide if all of these guys should be kept.  I'm leaning toward keeping the top 6.

My rankings are below, however, please rank how you view these arms.  Consider highest ceiling, more immediate impact to their respective teams and most consistent performer for the forseeable future.

  1. Fe. Hernandez
  2. Fr. Liriano
  3. Du. McGowan
  4. Jo. Zumaya
  5. Th. Diamond
  6. Je. Niemann
  7. J.D. Durbin
  8. Jo. Maine
All differences of opinion welcome and I've found John's site the best when it comes to sharing information on minor league talent.

Thanks in advance.

Bob

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Nice
I would agree with your rankings.  Interesting how you went against the hype and put mcgowan ahead of zumaya.

by sanchez101 on Jul 21, 2005 4:25 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

I'd put
McGowan closer to the bottom, but those are definately the 6 you want to keep.

by slurve on Jul 21, 2005 6:13 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Depends on your roster rules...
But I'm not sure about keeping 6. In my league we can only keep 20 out of a 32 man roster (12 team league), so you have to be a bit picky about who you decide to keep.

In terms of ceiling and opportunity, I think your the best bets are Felix, Liriano and Diamond.

Zumaya and Neimann have some health questions to answer, for me. Zumaya with his max-effort delievry, and Niemann with shoulder soreness this year. I like their ceilings, but they seem to have high injury risks.

McGowan and Durbin seem overrated to me. They seem to have good raw tools, but haven't been able to translate them into good success, yet. Their numbers have been ordinary, certainly not indicative of a #1-2 starter, so I wouldn't bother keeping them in my league.

From what I've read, Maine doesn't have great raw tools, and his performance in AAA has left much to be desired. So he doesn't seem worth the risk.

So, I'd keep Felix, Liraino, and Diamond for sure, then depending on your roster rules and your feeling about taking additional risks, Zumaya and Neimann could be good bets. But I'd cut the others loose.

by beastball on Jul 21, 2005 8:11 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Diamond... Good, but maybe not like the others!
Hello everyone,

artie - Reading through your post and your analysis, I would agree with the three you mentioned, Felix, Liriano, and Diamond.

However, if Zumaya, Niemann, or McGowan had better injury histories, I might take one of those three before Diamond.

Reading the other day about his stuff and makeup, he seems like he would be a good pitcher, but not an elite pitcher (more of a #3, rather than a #1 or #2.)  

I think Felix and Liriano both have great chances to be a #1 (more so for Felix) or #2 (Liriano - likely #2 now, possibly a #1 later); Diamond's stuff according to one scout was not great - his fastball was good, but his breaking stuff was flat and his command was not pinpoint; the scout was more impressed by his demeanor on the mound rather than his stuff.

In fact, it was hinted that Diamond might be #3 on the D-V-D (Danks, Volquez, Diamond.)  

Considering the analysis and arguments on the other pitchers, I might take Diamond third only because of his injury-free history and the opportunity he is likely to get with Texas because of their lack of pitching, but I caution that, in my opinion, he is not in the same class as Felix or Liriano (and probably not Zumaya, Niemann, or even McGowan) but has a better injury history than those three, so I would take Diamond third only for that reason.  

Durbin I'm not convinced about yet, although his pure velocity and stuff I believe is better than Diamond's; if he was a little more consistent, I would also consider him before Diamond.  Maine's stuff is not better than Diamond's so he would not get strong consideration from me in this list; I would take Diamond first over Maine.

Just my opinion. :-)

by indiansfan on Jul 21, 2005 10:00 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

I agree about Diamond...
I was watching him since his ranking on BA's Texas prospect list this off-season. I wasn't that high on him at the time, although his numbers were good, thinking he was destined for the middle of the rotation, if he made at all. But after reading a story on Jaime Newberg's Texas Ranger website about his approach, and watching him rack up impressive numbers in his first full pro season, I had to reassess.

But I do agree with you, he doesn't have the ceiling of Liriano or Felix. However, outside of Felix or Liriano, I'm more confident that Diamond will reach the majors and be productive, than I am in the others.

by beastball on Jul 21, 2005 10:16 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

I agree with you Artie...
Yes, I think Diamond will have a better chance of doing well than the others, mostly because of their injury histories and/or risks (McGowan, Zumaya, Niemann,) because they are unproven and haven't convinced me yet (Durbin,) or because their stuff isn't comparable to Diamond's (Maine.)  

At the same time, I think Diamond is more of a #3 starter - nothing wrong with that - just about any team would take a solid #3 - Texas certainly would, as they can use all the pitching they can get (no offense, Rangers fans.)

by indiansfan on Jul 22, 2005 7:02 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

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