Schedule

by John Sickels on Jan 30, 2008 5:19 PM EST in News

Our next few days are going to be devoted mostly to preparing for book shipping. Here is the schedule though this may slip a bit.

Thursday: Not a Rookie-Delmon Young
Friday: Not a Rookie-Hunter Pence
Sunday: Not a Rookie-Yovani Gallardo
Monday: Not a Rookie-Billy Butler

I will do more Not a Rookies but haven't picked the players yet. Next week we will also start looking at old Top 50 lists.

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request

Not sure what your criteria for "Not A Rookie"'s are, but I'd be interested to read one on either one of the Braves' young MIs. Neither were prospects on the scale of the five you've committed to do, but I think both would make interesting topics, as many believed they were playing well over their heads last year, while I've seen others (ZiPS, for example) projecting improvements.

by mraver on Jan 30, 2008 5:28 PM EST reply actions

request

Liriano please

by joeywyen @ Minor League Ball on Jan 30, 2008 5:49 PM EST reply actions

re

by rdf8585 on Jan 30, 2008 11:55 PM EST up reply actions

request

I listed several in the other thread, but my top two hitters would be Lastings Milledge and Mark Reynolds, top two pitchers would be Micah Owings and Rick Vanden Hurk.

by drwmsu1 on Jan 30, 2008 6:02 PM EST reply actions

+1 on Vanden Hurk

Vanden Hurk would be interesting. I haven't heard much about him since he made it to the majors, or even that much about him before that. It seems like he would get talked about more given his numbers in the minors and his power repertoire.

by AucklandGM on Jan 30, 2008 11:08 PM EST up reply actions

+1

by BobbyMac on Jan 31, 2008 3:25 AM EST up reply actions

+1

Vanden Hurk seems to have some good numbers and a great K per 9 with is last season numbers.

some others I would like to see:

Francisco Liriano
Ronny Paulino (if he counts)
Yunel Escobar
Jack Cust (I know this is a reach)
Chad Gaudin
Danny Richar
Anibal Sanchez
Ambiorix Burgos

by jwjc11 on Jan 31, 2008 8:36 AM EST up reply actions

Liriano

At the risk of being glib, I don't see what could possibly be written about Liriano which would mean anything at all at this juncture. Everyone knows he was dominant when healthy, so the only things which matter are: a) when will he be healthy again, and b) how will his injury impact his performance? Honestly, I wouldn't trust anything John (or anyone else) wrote now regarding these two questions. An injury expert - such as Will Carroll or Rick Wilton - could break down the injuries and how this type of injury has impacted other players in the past, but I think any prediction at this point is pure speculation.

Perhaps Vanden Hurk falls into the same grouping, but I was thinking that he pitched enough in 2007 to give people a better idea of how his "comeback" (from injury) was coming.

by BobbyMac on Jan 31, 2008 2:18 PM EST up reply actions

another +1 on VandenHurk

I hadn't heard of him until this year... what was his prospect status?

If he can get his walks down, he could be a good pitcher...

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by dbimberg on Jan 31, 2008 11:21 AM EST up reply actions

I think

Vanden Hurk was on Dawson's Creek

by dlpme77 on Jan 31, 2008 11:23 AM EST up reply actions

+1

The Dodgers won't win a playoff series until the Cool-a-Coo returns.

by mckeeno on Jan 31, 2008 12:32 PM EST up reply actions

Requests

Two I would request are Liriano and Ryan Braun. Two players who had phenomenal rookie seasons.

by jwaltz on Jan 30, 2008 6:17 PM EST reply actions

Great Stuff John

Does this type of analysis still lend itself to include a Letter Grade (using the same scale as for prospects)?

It would be awesome if Letter Grades could be included.

Fat Man is no more, Hinges burst off Heaven's door, Come on in, says Bill

by KABOOM @ Minor League Ball on Jan 30, 2008 6:59 PM EST reply actions

Some Not a rookie Requests

Dustin Pedroia (Room for improvement?)
Fausto Carmona (One year fluke?)
Jarrod Saltalamacchia (Future catvhing superstar or just average 1B'men?)
Yunel Escobar (Renteria clone?)
Travis Buck (Can he stay healthy?)

by dlpme77 on Jan 30, 2008 7:00 PM EST reply actions

Salty

What happened to Salty being on the list?

by groundingout @ Minor League Ball on Jan 30, 2008 7:27 PM EST reply actions

Another vote for Salty...

Very interesting player who does not seem to get the pub that he got in the past. Can he remain a catcher defensively? What are his chances of super-stardom?

by butkussayers on Feb 1, 2008 7:17 AM EST up reply actions

My favorite type of player

Is the guy who debuted at age 22-24, disappointed, fell off the radar for awhile, then came back to be a decent starter. Brandons Harris and Phillips fit the bill.

John, if you have a couple of your guys like this lurking, maybe you could do them in this feature.

by doubledribble @ Minor League Ball on Jan 30, 2008 7:51 PM EST reply actions

Request - Corey Hart

Hart spent 2 years tearing up AAA with OPS each year over .900. Yet his breakthrough with the brew crew last year seems to have come as a surprise to many. Id be interested to hear John's thoughts on the Brewers OF and whether he thinks he can continue to improve or if he has already peaked.

by flyby4553 on Jan 30, 2008 8:07 PM EST reply actions

not John

... but for a couple years, I've seen Corey Hart as being similar to Kevin McReynolds, perhaps with more speed. Looking at McReynolds' raw stats is a bit deceiving, as he spent his prime in Shea. I was sort of baffled at how little Hart was talked about, to be honest - even after his fine 2007 season. McReynolds may not have been Darryl Strawberry, but was a pretty valuable part of some good Mets teams, and - to me - Hart looks poised to do the same for the Brewers.

In that vein, I'm not expecting much more growth from Corey except the normal increase in walk rate, but I don't see any reason he can't keep doing what he did in 2007 with the bat for a while, and probably will grow into a more-well-regarded fielder as he gets used to playing the same position for more than a week at a time. :>

by BobbyMac on Jan 31, 2008 3:39 AM EST up reply actions

Not a Rookie

How about Travis Buck. A guy who mashed in the Majors when healthy, but only played basically half a year because of various injuries.

by Zonis on Jan 30, 2008 8:10 PM EST reply actions

request

phil hughes, s'il vous plait?

--http://yankeesfuture.wordpress.com Bobby Mcnally (alias) "Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve."--Napoleon Hall

by bobbymcnally on Jan 30, 2008 9:01 PM EST reply actions

re

by rdf8585 on Jan 30, 2008 11:54 PM EST up reply actions

Re:

by Tabata Time on Jan 31, 2008 1:44 AM EST up reply actions

If you do Delmon, you gotta do Garza...

It's only fair..

by websterjtc on Jan 30, 2008 9:18 PM EST reply actions

+1

by demondeaconbaseball on Jan 31, 2008 8:04 AM EST up reply actions

If you do Gallardo, going with Lincecum would

be good. ESPN put them head to head. And I think they may forever be linked if they both have great careers because of there big league arrivals being roughly the same time.

by Maxima231 on Jan 30, 2008 10:51 PM EST reply actions

Kurt Suzuki?

He has a big job ahead: continue to develop, hold off Langston Powell (if healthy) and Anthony Recker, and deal with a huge, probably changing pitching staff.

by dwiest12 on Jan 30, 2008 11:02 PM EST reply actions

Its Landon Powell

and his girlfriend in college was smoking HOT.

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by HuskerBob on Jan 31, 2008 8:52 AM EST up reply actions

request

Felix Pie

by Rezze21 on Jan 30, 2008 11:09 PM EST reply actions

Ryan Zimmerman

by Dfarth on Jan 31, 2008 9:40 AM EST reply actions

rick ankiel / ryan ludwick

i'd be interested in hearing opinions about cardinals not-a-rookie outfielders rick ankiel and ryan ludwick. ankiel has just 172 at bats as a position player. ludwick, once a top prospect, put up an .800 ops over 300 at bats last season including a .274/.372/.469 line after the all-star break.

by dmb60614 on Jan 31, 2008 9:48 AM EST reply actions