Best MLB career out of these guys

by cool hand Charlie on Nov 6, 2008 10:10 AM EST Comment 28 comments

Max Ramirez

Reid Brignac

Matt Gamel

Carlos Gonzalez

Jon Neise

Michael Bowden

James McDonald

Chris Perez

Jeff Samardzija

Jose Arrendando

So These guys all made their MLB debuts this year. And they are all past the point of "obvious talent"(Price, Longoria, Bruce, etc).

So, prospect hounds, I know this community is never short on opinions, so lets hear your take! Who will be the best out of this group and why?

Thanks guys,

Charlie

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Oooh... fun

Ok, I’m going to pick Max Ramirez.

Ramirez does not get traded this offseason (Laird does, to Boston for Masterson). Salty and Teagarden play in the majors, and MaxRam gets sent back to AAA to work on his defense and hitting against harder competition. Salty gets dealt at the deadline for a pitcher, and MaxRam is called up to be backup catcher and DH. Ramirez’s defensive work improves him to the point where he can fairly be considered “slightly below average”, and his work with the bat is compared to Mike Piazza by Bravesin07. We all laugh at Braves initially, but Ramirez continues to hit well. He moves off C permanently at age 34 to DH, and retires at the age of 39, with a reasonable case for the HOF.

by demondeaconsbaseball on Nov 6, 2008 10:18 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Laird for Masterson?

The Red Sox should be shot if they do that trade

by fartballs on Nov 6, 2008 11:18 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Either that

Or Masterson + something for Salty.

by demondeaconsbaseball on Nov 6, 2008 12:10 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Would Jon Lester be enough?

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by OldProspects on Nov 6, 2008 12:15 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Sarcasm...

Please tell me you were being sarcastic. Not sure if you meant Masterson + Lester for Salty…. or just Lester for Salty, but both of those deals are pretty bad I think. This is just my opinion, but I see Saltalamacchia as being a really good back-up or a poor starter when it comes to catchers. I think Masterson is much more valuable than Salty. And Lester is a solid middle of the rotation arm, and a lefty, and a fan favorite in Boston.

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by Boxkutter on Nov 6, 2008 12:25 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I mean

Salty for Masterson and a low-level, C prospect

Laird for Masterson

I’ve been a proponent of this for a while- each team deals from depth to get something they need. Masterson’s sinker is devastating in Arlington and he turns into a #3, and Laird/Salty replaces Tek.

by demondeaconsbaseball on Nov 6, 2008 12:40 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah but

Masterson >>>> Laird

by alskor on Nov 6, 2008 3:07 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

And

Masterson > Salty now. Too many questions about Salty to have him valued higher than Masterson.

by guru4u on Nov 6, 2008 6:09 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Again...

The Red Sox can afford to deal from depth and take the chance.

by demondeaconsbaseball on Nov 6, 2008 6:47 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Why would the rangers need another catcher prospect?

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by OldProspects on Nov 7, 2008 2:14 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah I was being sarcastic

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by OldProspects on Nov 7, 2008 2:13 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Teagarden

Weren’t the Red Sox really hot on Teagarden’s trail during the trade deadline last year? I think a trade involving him would be far more likely for the Red Sox, as I can’t recall hearing that the Red Sox have even the slightest bit of interest in Salty.

Of course, this begs the question of whether the Rangers would want to trade Teagarden, but I’d wager real money that he is worth much more than Salty to MLB teams at this point.

by mrkupe on Nov 6, 2008 2:33 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I've heard the Sox are interested in Salty and Laird

From MLB Trade Rumors… can’t remember when though.

by demondeaconsbaseball on Nov 6, 2008 6:48 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I sort of agree

I think Ramirez reminds me a little bit more of an Edgar Martinez type than Mike Pizza (more walks, not quite as much power), but I think he could be one of the best hitters for a while

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by OldProspects on Nov 6, 2008 12:08 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Wow

this is tough….

i’d say carlos gonzalez may have the highest ceiling for single season performance, but for career……i’m going to go max ramirez….ramirez has the bat that will allow him to hit for a number of years, even if he has to move positions…..

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting different results.

by biggentleben on Nov 6, 2008 10:21 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Gonzalez

I don’t see Ramirez’s major league career lasting as long as many expect, whereas Gonzalez will be a quite productive major leaguer for a long time.

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by The Congo Hammer on Nov 6, 2008 11:20 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Matt Gamel

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by RoyalsRetro on Nov 6, 2008 11:27 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Max Ramirez

Max Ramirez fans: aren’t concerned that his AA numbers were at least partially a result of him being a 24 year old there? He didn’t hit to well in AAA or MLB when he got the call….although both were very small sample sizes. Were his number so good in AA(again as a 24 year old) that its a certainty that his bat will play in the majors?

Go Pirates!!!

by cool hand Charlie on Nov 6, 2008 11:45 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Reference: Max is only three months older than Matt LaPorta

He played the entire ’08 season as a 23 year old.

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by jparks77 on Nov 6, 2008 11:58 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

At the higher levels

Where he was still 23, in tiny sample sizes, he showed similar amounts of power and ability to take a walk. His big problems were that he struck out more than he normally did, and his BABIP was significantly lower than it had been at every other level. Considering the tiny amounts of time that he was there for, this isn’t a significant problem for me. I’m not too concerned about his advanced age; first of all, he wasn’t that much older than other top prospects, especially considering he was a catcher who tend to be brought up slower than other prospects. I also don’t agree that there is sort of a natural growth, that all 23 year olds can hammer away at A ball or AA. There is the phenomenon of AAA prospects, people who can only hit AAA pitchers but can’t hit major leaguers, but I haven’t seen any evidence yet that Ramirez is in that category.

More generally, you’re right that it isn’t a certainty that he will succeed – there’s no such thing as a certainty. But I personally believe that he has a very good chance to be an outstanding hitter in the majors

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by OldProspects on Nov 6, 2008 12:15 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

James McDonald

I know it’s sort of an odd choice, but all the position players have either positional concerns (Ramirez, Gamel) or performance issues (Brignac, Gonzalez), and I think McDonald has the highest upside of the pitchers, without any red flags that scare me away completely. I like those position prospects, but I think McDonald is a stud.

by aap212 on Nov 6, 2008 12:46 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Agreed, even as a giants fan, I would probably go with McDonald. I love his upside. The other cats are fine choices, but on pure upside its McDonald for me.

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by Norcalfan10 on Nov 6, 2008 3:21 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Is McDonald's upside really that high?

He seems like the biggest slam-dunk of the pitchers on this list, but surely Samardzija, Perez, and even Bowden have a higher possible ceiling.

by DrunkIrish on Nov 7, 2008 2:44 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

on strict upside

I would say its easily Carlos Gonzalez.

by alskor on Nov 7, 2008 3:15 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I think he has the biggest upside also.

Let’s not forget he missed nearly two years while being a hitter. Also the reason I rank McDonald so highly is that his secondary stuff is so good. Obviously the question on him is always going to be velocity but it’s not like he’s a soft tosser. He was hitting the mid 90’s in the playoffs verse Philly. I know he won’t hit that regularly as a starter but as long as he can sit at 91-93 his control and secondary stuff separates him from the rest of the pack.

by mcpeepants23200 on Nov 10, 2008 12:28 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs