your opinion of projectprospect.com

by realityconquest on Oct 22, 2007 2:54 AM EDT

Do you many of you use this site, and if you do, what are your thoughts of it?

Thanks.

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I paid attention to it

when it came out, but not much anymore. Kind of leaves me flat. I think they have writers in flux, and some of the text can be really poorly written (sorry). Quality writing actually matters a lot to me - it's one main reason why I renew at BP (most of those guys can really write). Some of the stuff at PP makes me wince.

The PP editor, though, is a nice fella and surfs here often. He's pretty motivated, and very active in getting interviews, etc. One thing I do like about them is that they'll go against the grain sometimes. But I also think that sometimes they do it just to do it. Overall, I think they're a useful site to have bookmarked, but they don't add anything hugely interesting to the stream.

by siddfynch on Oct 22, 2007 3:10 AM EDT reply actions

Honestly?

Most of their content is pretty blah. Their top prospect list in interesting enough, and they have interesting articles now and again, but 80% of their content just feels like filler.

That could just be me, though.

by aCone419 on Oct 22, 2007 3:33 AM EDT reply actions

I am a prospect whore

Love it and thier is definetly a huge shortage of articles out thier on it so from that stand point I love the site.

Do I think these guys know what they are talking about? I do not value thier opinion more than anyone on this site but I read this site everyday.

Hope they keep it up and hope others who will likely hop on here saying these guys are wrong about this and that will start their own sites.

by novaoakland on Oct 22, 2007 5:41 AM EDT reply actions

I enjoy the site

I like what Adam has done in terms of his ranking system that is performance based (outside of a few guys who have not played yet). I love a mix between stats/scouting views, and there are a lot more scouting views out there than there are statistics based places, so it offers the other end of the spectrum. While there are really only 2 main writers, Adam and Adam, they have a bunch of guys come in and write specific articles on things they are more specialized in.

Good message boards too.

http://www.redsminorleagues.com

by dougdirt on Oct 22, 2007 8:19 AM EDT reply actions

agreed

I am a fan of the site and enjoy reading their opinions. Adam Foster does an excellent job of trying to respond to emails which I appreciate. I think they do a good job of trying to observe things firsthand instead of reading others write ups and then regurgitating that info.
My favorite story is when Adam Foster was at the Futures Game doing an interview with some prospect and a lady was being especially rude and trying to interrupt his interview. Foster continued with the interview until he was finished and then he heard behind him, "Hi, I am Erin Andrews with ESPN."

The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. It reminds us of all that once was good, and that could be again.

by Savoy on Oct 22, 2007 9:19 AM EDT up reply actions

PP is a great website.

Like their articles, their rankings in my opinion have been better than this ones in every way shape and form. I do enjoy minorleagueball aside from the few posters who do not have anything intelligent to say.

What I like about Project prospect especially is the way they interact with their members in the forums. They just dont write one sentence and call it a day.

::slowly moving over to Project prospect for good::

by Darce on Oct 22, 2007 9:01 AM EDT reply actions

SINTS

They do not factor in "bust" potential at all. They overrank teenagers and recent draftees with reckless abandon.

Looking at their top 5s, easily upwards of 75% of the players listed are either 2007 draftees or teenagers.

by Galt on Oct 22, 2007 9:48 AM EDT reply actions

Look at who they have done so far though

I am writing the Reds top 5 for them, and I can tell you right now there will not be a single 2007 draftee or teenager in the Reds top 5.

The teams that they have done so far, for the most part, have weaker systems, so new draft picks, especially higher round guys are going to be their top guys until they either flop or someone else comes in to take over for them.

http://www.redsminorleagues.com

by dougdirt on Oct 22, 2007 10:40 AM EDT up reply actions

i like it

i think the net is still waiting for a definitive prospect site, but it's probably the most likely candidate.

gap waiting to be filled. BA has the best content, but it's website is a mess and no interaction. this place suffers from lack of attention and an ancillary diary system. BA is probably best placed to be THE site, but until they do so, the field is open and project prospect seems to have the best idea of how to be a major site. Its problem is it doesn't have the resources of places like BA or, even, this place, so not sure it'll ever get over the hump.

so...we shall see. but at least he's trying.

by scooter on Oct 22, 2007 10:30 AM EDT reply actions

My thoughts

First, if you think about it Adam Foster is very similar to many of us. A young guy who is very into the 'prospecting' aspect of baseball along with the Sport in general. He worked hard to get an internship with BA and now as a relatively young man starting his own successful website. It is pretty amazing actually when you think about how far he has come in a short period of time.

However, I do agree with Galt here. I'm not very high about his ranking system at the end of the season. It is very heavy on ARL.

Aside from his rankings, in general rankings are pretty stupid, I do like his analysis and the way he dissects prospects. He has some articles that are rather unique to the field. He spends a lot of time on his site adding articles and giving fresh perspective. Also I know he has a 2 or 3 man team, but the top 5s are kind of dumb IMO. Most people know the top 5 of every team its those 10-30 guys that people don't know outside of the organizations they follow.

by JD Sussman on Oct 22, 2007 10:33 AM EDT reply actions

I like the site a lot

I like how they ranked Maybin a lot lower than the ESPN guy and BA. BA and ESPN have man crushes on Maybin and will probably have him in their top 5 prospect lists despite him having a huge BABIP and GB% again. I like Adam has done with Colby Rasmus, ranking him up in the top 3 due to a normal BABIP, power, walking ability. Rasmus of course will probably be 8-12 for BA and ESPN. Two years down the line Maybin is probably hitting .250 with about 15 HR's and 140 K's while Rasmus is hitting .290 with 25-30 HR's and 110 K's. True the rankings have too much 2007 drafties but BA will probably have them up there too. I like how they have sleepers in their top 75 like Tyler Robertson whom BA and ESPN probably won't have in their top 100.

by Bravesin07 on Oct 22, 2007 10:50 AM EDT reply actions

Do you have a job?

or life of any kind? With the number of posts you have here and there I imagine you doing nothing but reading and writing posts all day long.

by t ball on Oct 22, 2007 12:21 PM EDT up reply actions

well getting a science job isn't easy

I have a bachelors in science and i've been trying like hell to get a good science job. I've been doing a lot of temp jobs and helping out with my parents family business. I've had quite a few interviews and haven't gotten the job. It doesn't help that the school you went to college doesn't help you find a good job. Their career services are a joke.

by Bravesin07 on Oct 22, 2007 12:54 PM EDT up reply actions

How freakin rude

by mroak89 on Oct 24, 2007 9:58 PM EDT up reply actions

BABIP

I'm not the greatest sabermatrician, but from what I understand, only pitchers have a mean BABIP that they bounce around.

Hitters, on the other hand, have a career BABIP that they establish and then bounce around until they hit their decline. So if Maybin is a good enough hitter, he will have a BABIP that will be higher than other hitters.

For example, Chone Figgins has regularly had BABIP much above .300, and has a career .343 BABIP. http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=1580&position=3B

For another, Ichiro has never had a BABIP near .300 in his 7 full seasons, lowest is .319, and his career BABIP is .359: http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=1101&position=OF

On the other hand, Barry Bonds has been considered one of the best hitters around, but his career BABIP is a pretty pedestrian .288, though his last three seasons have brought that down a bit.

Now, you might ask, why is there this dichotomy between hitters and pitchers? I've not seen it explicitly laid out, but since pitchers - for the most part - have no control over BABIP, the BABIP just represents the overall level of talent among hitters (though obviously a team's defense could push that up and down as well, so I guess I should add overall level of talent for defense too). As hitters age and decline, they get replaced by young hitters who can hit at the league level of hitting talent or better, which keeps the overall BABIP around a certain level.

by obsessivegiantscompulsive on Oct 22, 2007 1:49 PM EDT up reply actions

BABIP

the general rule for BABIP is Line Drive Percentage plus .120 ~ = BABIP. Guys with exceptional speed tend to be a little higher than that. With that said, someone like Ichiro has never come close to the discrepency that Cameron Maybin has between what his line drive rate would suggest his BABIP should be, and what it actually is. When a guy has a line drive rate of ~11% his suggested BABIP should be ~.230, instead Maybin is hovering over .400. Thats beyond insane.

http://www.redsminorleagues.com

by dougdirt on Oct 22, 2007 1:57 PM EDT up reply actions

I think it's a good site

and agree with Metty's first paragraph. I think if you look at where they were and where they are now in a years time, they have done very well for themselves. As far as credibility, well most of the so called experts are self proclaimed or just put their opinions out there until people started agreeing with them. I'm sure there have been people over the years who fizzled out but credibility with this type of thing happens with time. It takes years for the estimations they have made to come to light either way so it's hard to really say they aren't credible. They seem to be fans of the game first, are easily accessible and give another opinion which is always a good thing.

They have built PP from the ground up in a years time into a very friendly community without a lot of the nonsense you find here between posters. They are borderline to strict at times but they have been a lot better lately and the insults still haven't gotten out of hand. My only real worry about that site is their time free to invest in it. It has to be extremely time consuming to be that community friendly and I know Loberstein just started college and Foster is beginning his career. Hopefully they can find a combination that allows the site to keep growing.

by jfish26101 on Oct 22, 2007 11:24 AM EDT reply actions

Kazmior

David, I heavily enjoy PP and think it has been improved a great deal over the last 4-6 months. Will the recent posts of stock options and other non-sense, its keeping more interested than this place.

by fasterblade on Oct 22, 2007 11:27 AM EDT reply actions

haha

i use both, but ive looked at PP more over the last month or two.

Babe Ruth and Travis Snider back to back!!!

by realityconquest on Oct 22, 2007 1:33 PM EDT up reply actions

if i shouldnt have done that

then my apologies, I was not trying to cause a problem. I like PP and use it and i was just curious how other people felt.

Babe Ruth and Travis Snider back to back!!!

by realityconquest on Oct 22, 2007 1:34 PM EDT reply actions

I doubt John cares too much

First off, for the amount of things we talk about on here from Baseball America, who at least are competitors with him, I doubt he minds much. PP charges nothing for anything they put out. They don't have a book to compete with John, they don't have a news letter that competes with him.... none of that stuff. Heck, I mean how many posters on the site have their own websites in the signatures? I know that I do. Several others also do.

http://www.redsminorleagues.com

by dougdirt on Oct 22, 2007 2:18 PM EDT reply actions

It's a nice site

I'm not a fan of the ranking system exactly, but other than that it's cool.

by doublestix on Oct 22, 2007 2:19 PM EDT reply actions

I like it

considering what adam and adam started with and made it into. Though, it is pretty biased towards specific prospects but I guess that is the site's right. The content is pretty short and I skim it ever so often.

by Havok1517 on Oct 22, 2007 7:26 PM EDT reply actions

THE SITE IS A JOKE

Just look at the prospect list

#56-Mike Carp
#62-Deolis Guerra

???

Mike Carp didn't make the list after his great 2006 season, but yet after doing terrible in 2007 and showing that he still can't hit left handed pitchers he makes the list at #56?

Then Guerra a 17 year old throwing low 90's with a plus changeup, and is in a league that should be way over his head is #62?

Mike Carp is a platoon 1B in the majors, So I guess they are trying to say guerra ceiling is lower then that?

by Maine Man on Oct 22, 2007 8:06 PM EDT reply actions

As a site

It is awesome. He ranks more frequently than anyone else, he does it for free, and there's no subscriber only info.

by delmonfan on Oct 24, 2007 12:07 AM EDT reply actions

Why is that awesome?

The attributes you list are kind of low standards, aren't they? Free content, with frequent rankings? Since when is that alone "awesome?" Simply put, the writing is often pretty bad, and reads as pretty rehashed stuff. Maybe there's a reason other sites don't update so frequently.

Just sayin'....

by siddfynch on Oct 24, 2007 12:21 PM EDT up reply actions