Clement has been ML ready for 2 years now. Only injury set him back. How about an A- here, especially considering his defense has been pretty good?

I would give a pretty strongly different grade and list.

1. Adam Jones, OF, Grade A
   
2. Jeff Clement, C, Grade A-
   
3. Carlos Triunfel, SS, Grade B+
   
4. Chris Tillman, RHP, Grade B
   
5. Wladimir Balentien, OF, Grade B
   
6. Juan Ramirez, RHP, Grade B-
   
7. Michael Saunders, OF, Grade B-
   
8. Tony Butler, LHP, Grade C+
   
9. Phillippe Aumont, RHP, Grade C+
   
10. Greg Halman, OF, Grade C+

He has more AB (139) than the rookie threshold of 130. Generally this means he has eclipsed his prospect status.

I think community members are certainly interested in any evaluations John would be willing to provide - whether that's Joe Mauer, Adam Jones or Rick Porcello. But in the end I think Adam Jones should be excluded from the top 50 lists so it's apples to apples comparison to other industry lists.

Adam Jones a B+? I was expecting a straight A if he's eligible for the list. I'm one of the biggest Maybin supporters there is, but even I have to admit I'd take Jones ahead of him. I'd clearly take Jones ahead of Ellsbury and Votto and of course Lowrie. I don't see any real difference between Adam Jones and Jay Bruce.

I have never seen Adam Jones. But I keep hearing how his tools are sick. I agree they rushed him in 2006, and I wish more teams would take the Brewers approach and let some kids play together as a group and advance together. So they get used to winning and mature. Jones is a B+ here. But down the road he could, possibly be great. If the M's dont deal him for Bedard or anyone else. I think that he will struggle big time this year. But I see a break out in 2009.

Can't wait to see him actually play this year.

Very curious about Clement.  Does he have a good chance to join the McCann/Martin class of young catchers?

Aumont could be given a B, but maybe it's just that I like 2007 draftees a lot.

Great Job John!

Jones does not have A level plate discipline.  He has never walked much at any level.

Given his age, power and premium defensive position an A- would not be overly generous.

Clement is a bit old to get an A- with those stats.

Still 5 B+ players is pretty good.

I don't remember the exact rules for prospects (dealing with Sept callups) but why is Jones considered a prospect?  He has played in 73 games and has 139 AB over 2 years.  Doesn't that disqualify him for "prospect" status?
If not, would he be considered for ROY?

Don't know much about that guy.  What are people's thoughts about his ceiling?

You must really suck as a prospect if a prospecting guru doesn't get your first name right.

Has this 1B fallen off the face of "prospectdom"?

I think Jones should be an A- as well. The way he destroyed AAA last year along with his tools and age scream out elite prospect.

I agree with the Clemenet at B+. Injuries and bring his otherwise elite status down to a B+.

I love the aggressive Tillman rating. I like him alot and next year he will probably thrust himself to the top portion of pitching prospects.

John has the question mark by his name.  
I would give him a straight B.  It seems that he does not have a wide range of skills.  Mostly a power bat - which is a great skill to have, but not worthy of top prospect status.  

Jones = A-
Clement = B
Balentin = B-

Alex Liddi is a notable omission.

He was in my area a few years back, I dont have his numbers or anything but I expected him to get a mention.

I get the great defense and only being 17 in High A but think the 17 at high A is a product of Seattle just loving to rush players.

Yes he held his own but I am just not convinced.

Very impressive system.  I think Triunfel's grade is a bit enthusiastic. If he's a B+, I would think Angel Villalona should be an A- which I don't expect John to give him.  Surprise me, John!

Jones is a tough call, but his upside is huge.

Yeah, very nice system.  What players might I be able to see in the Cal League this year?

Is Mangini a Robin Ventura type player or not as good of a hitter as that?  I know they talk about his back being a problem, but does anybody think he can have a decent MLB career?

As a die-hard Giants fan, I know that Villalona is a better prospect than Triunfel. I want to make a big point that a B+ is way to high, and if John wants it that way, then I insist that Big "V" is an A-.

At first glance, this list was johns best. It still might be, but I consider revising my thought.

Michael Wilson of Tulsa, OK.

Has proven himself to be unable to hit a breaking pitch? Lots of power potential (former OU LB commit).

Thoughts??

The Yankees have a few high-level guys returning from TJ surgery in 2008, but I don't see any of them on your top 20 list.  Others still seem to be excited by guys like JB Cox, Humberto Sanchez, Mark Melancon and Christian Garcia.  Does the surgery increase the risk so much that you automatically grade lower than a C?

Thanks!

p.s. I'm a newbie, so if I'm asking something that's repetitive, I apologize.

You are saying John Sickels has no credibility because he rated a guy you don't like higher than a guy you do? That's a really unfortunate choice of language in my opinion. You are perfectly within your right to say you disagree, but to write the man off over the disagreement? I am disheartened by the comments of those who choose to denigrate others rather than discuss the issues.

Don't be shocked wherever he is put up .310 20 100 with a lot of doubles and a good BB/K.

There are a lot of high ceiling OF prospects. But guys who can play 2b/ss and stay there are rare. Hence the extra value.
B+ is still a great grade, and on Johns scale, likely means he will be a star at some point.
Also, insulting someone who allows us to see his rankings here for free, likely is not a good move. And really shows your lack of class and gratitude. And, if you think you can scout better. I suggest you start a blog and see how many people actually care to read it.

A good, rational argument as to why Adam Jones is ranked lower than Jacoby Ellsbury and Andy LaRoche. It just doesn't seem possible in my eyes.

The Mariners top 20 list surprised me. I hadn't really looked at that organization in depth. Probably, better than I've been led to believe it was.  I would also agree with some of the posts here that Adam Jones ceiling is that of an All Star type CF. An A- for me. The kid has all the tools and seems to have quality makeup(humble, hardworking, aggressive, confident). I think he still needs to continue to improve in commanding the strikezone hopefully that comes with good quality at bats... but then again name a ML power hitter who didn't.

I won't pile on in regards to John's opinion of Jed Lowrie.(I'd grade him a solid B myself and I think they are a different class of player ceiling wise). It is his opinion and its good to see someone stick to their guns rather than flip flop.  

I personally, saw Jed Lowrie 1 week this summer and like him but don't think he can stay at shortstop long term which diminishes his value. I don't buy him being an all star at the 3b position at all. I just don't see him as a well above average ML hitter in the future, he lacks the Power, armstrength ideal for that position and as a result a club would always be looking for his replacement.

Lowrie is a player with good instincts an average playable arm, defensively his range is a question mark especially with consistency in making the play in the hole. Average speed(which is a bother to me because the other offensive tools aren't standout type), gap power. My impression of him was he's ok at SS but not the core type you build a championship team with at that position.

 However, if you moved him to 2B you just may have something there as an everyday regular. The problem with the 2B scenario for the Red Sox is that they know that they now have an established fan-favorite type player there with Pedroia which makes Lowrie easily expendable for them. This probably is why we are hearing his name in trade talks so much. Most likely teams haven't asked for him specifically so much as the Red Sox are saying if this closes the deal we'll give you Lowrie as well. Just my take on that.

If John is wrong I'm sure he'll be reminded by some of you here. But, also remember this... he is not doing this anonymously.  As all veteran scouts will tell you... no one is completely right all the time and mistakes are made, but being right most of the time is the goal.  From what I've seen John is correct often and doesn't carry some of the bias that others may have.  Remember writers/reporters always are kinder with organizations who give them inside information.

I see alot of people saying player X has a higher ceiling he should be ranked higher than player Y.  Lots of guys with huge ceilings never reach them.  Just because a guy has a high ceiling doesn't mean he's a better prospect than a guy with a good ceiling who is alot more likely to reach his full ability.

My top 10, future top 500 SFG prospects

Your top 10--Sabean2009? I think I like it.

Saunders I also think is closer to a B-, maybe even a B.  Yeah, I know, it was the Cally league.  Granted.  But IMO, even if you knock his numbers down a few notches they were pretty good.  He didn't turn 21 until well after the season, so as a 20 year to succeed in High-A is not bad. Looking at his career (excluding small sample from AA), his BB rate has stayed constant and pretty good for a player his age I might add.  On top of that, he's struck out less per PA every season.  Last year wasn't a huge jump up, but it was an improvement.  Maybe some of the power he showed last year was generated by the league, but he's a big kid (6-4) and as mentioned very young, so I don't have huge doubts about his power 2-3 years from now.

In the end, he's got the tools (size, speed), he's showing improvement, he's played well and he's done so at levels he was either young for or on target for.  AA is one of the biggest jumps, and he K's enough that I think you'll see an average drop but if he can maintain the walks, and keep his ISO up (out of hitter friendly league but another year older), I think he could have a good year.  

A good player for comparison, IMO, is Carlos Gonalez.  In 2006 at almost the exact same age (2 weeks diff) he hit .300-.355-.562 in the cally league w/ the same K rate but almost 1/2 the BB rate as Saunders.  So Saunders hit .299-.392-.473.  I don't think the difference is so severe as to rate one a B+ and the other a C+ (but heh, maybe Gonzalez was overrated).  Their OPS diff wasn't as big as it seems anyway b/c OPS underrates OBP.  Plus, if you give me 2 guys at 20 years old, one who can't walk, and the other who has less power (but is 6-4, 205), I'd say its more likely that the big kid will develop power as he ages than it is that the other guy will start to learn to take walks.

So yeah, Gonzalez' numbers dropped in AA.  As expected.  But given Saunders' eye, and his size and speed, I see him as a real breakout candidate if not in 2008 than in 2009.