Top this list ... deep (very deep) league draft

by strums on Feb 13, 2007 11:32 PM EST Comment 37 comments

I thought this may be interesting aside from all the Bailey v. Hughes discussions. I'm in a 8 team league with 23 starting roster spots, 45 amn active MLB rosters and 100+ minor league spots. This is who's left for our draft. Give some top 5's, 10's, or relative unknowns who will rise to the top.

Anderson, Bryan
Barton, Brian
Bianchi, Jeffrey
Bladergroen, Ian
Boesch, Brennan
Bonifacio, Emilio
Burnett, Alex
Buschmann, Matthew
Butler, Anthony
Cannon, Chip
Casto, Kory
Ceda, Jose
Chen, Yung
Cox, Bryson
De La Cruz, Eulogio
Deduno, Samuel
Denker, Travis
Dorn, Daniel
Dunlap, Cory
Edwards, Jonathan
Egan, Jonathan
Feliz, Neftali
Fernandez-Oliva, Carlos
Fie, Andrew
Fisher, Brent
Flores, Jesus
Fontaine, Robert (Chase)
Freese, David
Fuenmayor, Balbino
Gamel, Mat
Garcia, Jose
Gillespie, Cole
Gonzalez, Esmailyn
Haigwood, Daniel
Hankerd, Cyle
Haynes, Jeremy
Hernandez, Gorkys
Herrera, Jonathan
Hilligoss, Mitchell
Holmes, Stephen
Hynick, Brandon
Jennings, Desmond
Jurrjens, Jair
Kontos, George
LaHair, Bryan
Larish, Jeffrey
Lemon, Marcus
Lindsay, Shane
Melillo, Kevin
Meloan, Jonathan
Montero, Jesus
Nowak, Chris
Nunez, Jhonny
Orr, Kyle
O'Sullivan, Sean
Outman, Joshua
Parra, Gerardo
Parraz, Jordan
Paulino (del Guidice), Felipe
Pearce, Steven
Peguero, Carlos
Pino, Yohan
Pope, Van
Ray, Jason
Richmond, Jamie
Sizemore, Scott
Sonnanstine, Andrew
Strait, Cody
Sweeney, Matthew
Truinfel, Carlos
Vanden Hurk, Rick
Velez, Eugenio
Venable, William
Veras, Nicolas (Vlad)
Villalona, Angel
Vinyard, Christopher
Wade, Cory

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good god

sounds like torture.

Bianchi and Sonnastine are a couple names to remember.

by wildthang on Feb 13, 2007 11:33 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

It is torture!

I just got in last year, these guys have been doing this since the 90's. Most managers just study up on the actual June draft, but I'm left with a decimated roster and some guys slip through the June draft (i.e. Kory Casto)and nobody ever picks them up.

by strums on Feb 13, 2007 11:49 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Meloan should be the first pick out of that group.

by rothe on Feb 13, 2007 11:37 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Meloan - Starter or Bullpen?

I like to stay away from minor league relievers, no holds category in this league and closers change more often than my kids' diapers. You can always pick a closer du jour in this league.

by strums on Feb 13, 2007 11:54 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

go get these guys

Van Pope
Anthony Butler
Desmond Jennings
Jonathen Herrera
Cyle Hankerd
Gorkys Hernandez

...and im still holding out hope for cory dunlap and jordan parraz making an impact somehwere....

fyi, Butler is the only one who makes my Top 100...and Pope is the most advanced of the guys i mentioned...

by daveh33 on Feb 13, 2007 11:46 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

couple of guys

Casto, Kory
Richmond, Jamie
Sizemore, Scott
Villalona, Angel
O'Sullivan, Sean
Outman, Joshua
Hernandez, Gorkys
Herrera, Jonathan
Pope, Van
Meloan, Jonathan
Jennings, Desmond
Jurrjens, Jair
Lemon, Marcus
Truinfel, Carlos

to name a few with Meloan and Villalona topping the list

by foolintherain on Feb 13, 2007 11:50 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

first group

this is the first group of guys i'd look at, in rough order.

Meloan, Jonathan
Parra, Gerardo
Hernandez, Gorkys
Hankerd, Cyle
Gillespie, Cole
Cox, Bryson
Barton, Brian
Butler, Anthony
Fisher, Brent
Anderson, Bryan
De La Cruz, Eulogio
Deduno, Samuel
Herrera, Jonathan
Jurrjens, Jair

by wily mo on Feb 13, 2007 11:53 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

also consider

the international signess, villalona and then truinfel.

by wily mo on Feb 13, 2007 11:54 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Jurrjens?

Major league stuff or minor league success?

by strums on Feb 13, 2007 11:58 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I can't be

the only one who see's Andrew Sonnanstine's name on there. Can I? Or does everyone else hate him? I thought John, not that he's the end all/be all but he is greater than I, at least thought moderatly high of him (B/B-)?

by williethekid20 on Feb 14, 2007 12:00 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

ive heard

villalona is the next miguel cabrera. my 2 cents...
pino has terrific numbers, dont know if hell start or relief though.
i just got gillespie and love his tools. still young but has some nice power.
and most of the guys already mentioned.

by Colavitorockys on Feb 14, 2007 12:00 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Villalona to Cabrera comparison

just because Kevin Goldstein said it would happen in a perfect world doesn't mean it's at all close to being true.

I'll be the first A+ prospect... www.myspace.com/posingforpennies

by ufoboy90 on Feb 14, 2007 11:46 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

NL Top Prospects Only

I am in NL Keeper league and these are my top five from your list.

Angel Villalona - 16 year old with 40HR potential
Van Pope - 3B for the Braves in 09
Cole Gillespic - OF for the Brewers 08
David Freese - Padres 08 or 09
William Venable - good baseball genes from Max his father

by Steel City on Feb 14, 2007 12:08 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

16 yr old?

I'm pretty sure I had 40 HR 'potential' at 16...and so did my little sister.

Meloan may not be a starter but he will still have value in the pen. I doubt he would close in LA (Broxton) but my guess is he gets traded to a team to be their closer.

by rothe on Feb 14, 2007 12:21 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

de

Barton, Brian
Bianchi, Jeffrey
Butler, Anthony
Fisher, Brent
Flores, Jesus
Hernandez, Gorkys
Pope, Van
Sonnanstine, Andrew

Those were the names that popped out at me. Butler I would take first.

by doublestix on Feb 14, 2007 12:25 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Balbino!

Not that he's one of the best on this list, but he'll be the best Balbino and the best Fuenmayor in major league history.
The young potential studs with even more potential are Gorkys Hernandez and Angel Villalona. If this is a dynasty league I would value them all highly.

Hey fish, leave those kids alone!

by The Congo Hammer on Feb 14, 2007 12:42 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Anthony Butler

Is that the Tony Butler who was the second round draft choice of the Mariners? If so, I'd definitlely take him.

Gotta go with upside on these so I'd take Villalona and lock him up.

by DrBGiantsfan on Feb 14, 2007 12:59 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Right

+ 1

by igreen01 on Feb 14, 2007 6:24 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Deduno

No Sam Deduno love?

by aCone419 on Feb 14, 2007 2:10 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Parra

Gerardo Parra is a good one
and Villalona

by AZDBACKS on Feb 14, 2007 2:29 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I like most of the guys listed above...

A couple that stand out to me is Villalona, Bianchi, and Kory Casto. Meloan is one to watch and I agree that he might be traded to close. That said, I'm with you in that I don't value closers that high and try to draft them in late rounds.

One to add to the watch list, is Jonanthan Edwards. He's got power potential from a corner outfield position. I'd check John's write up on him and I think you will like what you see.

by Brock20 on Feb 14, 2007 9:14 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Gorkys

I'll go against the grain and say take Gorkys Hernandez ahead of Butler. On Meloan, there's probably a 90% chance he's a reliever long-term, so if you don't want relievers, then don't take him. I do, however, think that he'll be a reliever with more than a K per inning and an ERA below 3.5 more often than not though, so he still could have value even if he doesn't get saves.

Here's my breakdown -

Guys with high potential (in order of how much I like them):
Gorkys Hernandez
Angel Villalona
Balbino Fuenmayor
Desmond Jennings
Cole Gillespie
Esmalyn Gonzalez (still sounds like an overpay until I hear otherwise)

Guys with midrange potential who are likely to reach it (in order of how much I like them):
Brian Barton
Andrew Sonnanstine
Cory Kasto
Jeff Bianchi
Van Pope (probably wont hit enough to be worth it in fantasy
Daniel Haigwood (if he can tone down the walks, he could be better than the rest in this bunch though)

Guys who should be good relievers someday:
Jon Meloan
Bryan Anderson
Neftali Feliz

Guys who put up good stats young but I don't see as having much high-end potential as they move up the ladder:
Cyle Hankerd
Jair Jurrjens
Chris Nowak (IMO, he'll be an okay major leaguer someday, but it will be when he's 27 or 28)

The rest of the guys either don't strike me or are too far under my radar for me to know enough about them to make a good analysis.

No-brainer takes:
Gorkys Hernandez
Brian Barton
Angel Villalona

by Brickhaus on Feb 14, 2007 9:50 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Whoops

Seems like I missed quite a few there after I looked over the list again. I also like Orr quite a bit as a high-potential guy.

One more guy to consider is Joakim Soria. He'll probably be a reliever this year, but if the reports out of Mexico are true, then he could be a Santana-esque steal at this point, just carries a lot of risk since he has to be carried on the major league roster.

by Brickhaus on Feb 14, 2007 9:53 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Bryan not Brett

Isn't Bryan Anderson a C with STL?

by cooper7d7 on Feb 14, 2007 10:02 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Good catch

I was thinking of Brian Anderson, not Bryan Anderson. Analysis still stands though - I'd be pretty sure that Anderson isn't taken in this league, even if it does go deep.

by Brickhaus on Feb 14, 2007 12:30 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Damn that's deep

It seems like you guys go too deep. The prospect list is so picked over. Don't get me wrong there are some nice prospects on there, but for the most part it's a bunch of guys that are 3-4 years away.

My league has a 25 man starting roster and a 25 man minor league roster. We also have an option system. If a player gets 3 options he has to make your roster or get cut. So drafting 16 year old kids is not the smartest thing unless he moves really fast or you start him on your starting roster.

But that's what makes Fantasy baseball great. Every league is different.

by The Scout on Feb 14, 2007 11:53 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Jurrjens

He pitched at AA last year(at 20 years old) with a repectable 3.36 ERA and 51-20 k/bb rate. in about 70 innings. He also had a whiplash incident in a car acident that hampered him for a few weeks. This was later in the season as well after having a dominate performance in the World game and at Lakeland(a+). I think he puts up numbres akin to lakeland after being fresher. If he does, he moves up to being a top 10 pitching prospect in baseball without question.

I think he rises up very quick this year.

by Bondomania on Feb 14, 2007 11:58 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Jose Garcia

I like Jurrjens as well, but my favorite pitcher on the list is Jose Garcia, if the one on your list is the Florida pitcher that just turned 22.

He could start the year at Albuquerque, so his numbers may not look very good in that park. If he pitches well in the spring probably a bullpen guy unless someone gets hurt. He really looks to me like a guy that will come out of nowhere and push toward the top of the rotation either in Florida or elsewhere a year or two from now.

For a guy that went from high A ball to the majors last year he maintained the K's and control pretty well. He'd be the first pitcher I'd select, his upside is higher than Jurrjens IMO. Worst case scenario he ends up a closer. Good luck!

by blissedj on Feb 14, 2007 2:34 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Don't think so

He doesn't have much upside from what I've seen. BP listed his best case scenario as a middle of the rotation workhorse.

Still a good prospect though, no doubt.

by doublestix on Feb 14, 2007 5:39 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

BP is great

but I wouldn't base my own final call on that one source. I like the numbers Jose Garcia put up.

strums - Go and check the numbers Jose Garcia and Anibal Sanchez put up at Carolina this year. You'll find they are very close and Garcia is a year younger than Sanchez. Making the jump from dominating high A to performing very well at AA is a great sign. Garcia also increased his K/9 from high-A to AA.

by blissedj on Feb 14, 2007 7:17 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

FINALLY!

I kept scrolling down this posting. I kept thinking to myself, "When are these fools gonna show Jair some love?" Finally, getting some love in the midst of a sea of doubters.

There is a lot to like about Jurrgens. The fact that he profiles as a workhorse #2 or #3 is a good thing. His body is still projectable. His ratios are solid, including great HR supression and GB rate.

You'll see! YOU WILL ALL SEE!!!

*This message brought to you by The Church of Cole Hamels and Latter Day Lefties*

by QuixoticQuasiQuandary on Feb 17, 2007 10:36 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Wow

...I think everyone's mentioned the prospects on this list, but I thought I'd throw in an 'amen' on Tony Butler/Jurrjens/Triunfel/Sonnanstine/Gorkys Hernandez (those 5 are in no particular order), and then, if you've got picks and don't mind taking a flyer, I might look at Henricus 'Rick' Vanden Hurk.

by marc w on Feb 14, 2007 5:38 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Latin Signees

Montero, Jesus
Villalona, Angel
Truinfel, Carlos
Fuenmayor, Balbino

To my knowledge none of these has ever swung a bat in organized baseball, or at least American organized baseball. Do these guys actually now report to and play in the minors in 2007?

by strums on Feb 14, 2007 5:53 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

My top 10

Wow, there are some names that even I dont recognize on that list, which is saying something (Stephen Holmes? Alex Burnett? Jeremy Haynes?).

Here's my top 10 in the order I have them on my list (I wouldnt necessarily select them in this order, but that's just where I have them on the list now):

Jo. Herrera - He's the only one that's in my top 100. I think he's a better candidate for Rockies 2Bman of the future than EY2. #10 in the Cali league, and I think he'll be around #7-#8 on the Rockies Top 10, which is pretty good.
E. Bonifacio - Now here's a guy that gets practically no mention anywhere. #11 in the Cali League (right behind Herrera). He hit .321 and had 61 SBs (only 14 CS)! He didnt make the D-Backs top 10, but that's a tough list to make and in the BA Chat they said he was #12 or #13, which means he'd be at least #7-#8 in an average system. BA said he's the fastest guy in the org, so the SBs were no fluke. The problem is the D-Backs are so stacked w prospects, I dont know where he'll fit in. They may end up trading him, which is OK for you since you're evidently in a mixed league.
T. Butler - #4 on Seattle Top 10 and #6 in NWL.
K. Casto - I dont think he's as good as the rest on this list, but he could be valuable in roto because he might be an everyday player this year. I dont know when your draft is, but I'd pay attention to the developments w the Nats and proceed w caution.
B. Barton - Great power/speed stats combo in minors, #5 on Indians Top 10 and he made 2 separate League top 20 lists. But he has lots of competition for the Indians' future OFers spots (Sizemore, Crowe, Gutierrez, Drennen, Choo, Francisco), so he might end up a 4th or 5th OFer at best.
A. Villalona - Everybody says this kid has loads of talent. But he's only 16 and hasnt played one day of pro ball.
J. Jurrgens - Very good minors' stats and is young for his league. #4 on Tigers Top 10 and made 2 league top 20's. But has limited upside.
Jo. Garcia - This is an intriguing choice. He started at Hi-A and went thru 4 levels to wind up in MLB. I was quite surprised when he was left off the Marlins Top 10. Is only 21 y/o and K-rate was very good in minors, but he evidently has limited upside. I have heard him mentioned as a possible closer for Fla. Proceed w caution.
C. Hankerd - Really mashed in 1st year of pro ball. #6 in NWL but missed D-Backs' Top 10. Like Bonifacio, I think he's a good prospect, but wonder where he'll fit in on the D-Backs (ditto for G. Parra).
G. Hernandez - Supposedly very talented but raw, very young and very far away from MLB. #7 on Tigers' list and #3 in GCL.

Meloan is worth considering, but relievers who arent pegged to be closers are less valuable in roto than in real life.

Personally, there probably are a lot of guys who are available that I'd take before most of the ones on your list. Are foreign players and amateurs eligible in your league?

by rhd on Feb 14, 2007 6:23 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

is this guy available?

Hector Gomez, COL...an 18 yr-old shortstop that looks to be developing into an outstanding hitting prospect...he was one of the top hitters in the DSL in '05, and continued to rake this year in Rookie ball...the Rockies are very, very high on him

also, i really like Gerardo Parra...a pure hitter who does everything well right now except hit for HR power, but this figures to come...i would take Parra over Gorkys Hernandez: he is a little bigger (more power projection), and much more polished (see his K/BB ratio)

by milkmanmax on Feb 14, 2007 8:15 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Gomez - good tip

He's not taken, and wasn't on my radar.

by strums on Feb 14, 2007 10:32 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

My 2 cents

Barton, Brian - older prozi but could be close. nice tools
Butler, Anthony - i believe i read he's gained velocity peaking in the mid 90's.
Cox, Bryson - closer situation unresolved. he could open eyes fairly quickly.
Hernandez, Gorkys - looks like a potential break out prospect with high upside.
Meloan, Jonathan - what can i say? this guy is the goods.
Villalona, Angel - maybe it's the cabrera comp. definitely worth the gamble.

Dutin Pedroia .... a poor man's Ronny Cedeno - Theo Epstein

by the pinstripes on Feb 15, 2007 3:35 PM EST reply actions 0 recs