Top 5 college position players

by jsmall404 on Apr 14, 2008 1:49 PM EDT

New post on my blog.

http://21nunder.wordpress.com/

I have a feeling there will be mixed opinions, so I am curious how everyone ranks them.

I would encourage everyone to keep in mind position scarcity and the value of an offensive player playing up the middle.

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"I would encourage everyone to keep in my position scarcity and the valur of an offensive player playing up the middle."

ahhh, a voice of reason..

by nms on Apr 14, 2008 1:54 PM EDT 0 recs

No Thanks

I'll take Pedro Alvarez over anybody on that list.

I reject your reality and substitute my own.

by WayneCampbell08 on Apr 14, 2008 2:02 PM EDT 0 recs

Oops

I thought typed a disclaimer than Alvarez was the consensus #1 and this was a top 5 after him since he is kind of on another level. I will have to change that.

by jsmall404 on Apr 14, 2008 2:11 PM EDT 0 recs

posey is putting up amazing numbers this year, and when you talk about position scarcity doesn't catcher have to be right there with shortstop at the top of the list? i have posey right there at the top with beckham or even slightly ahead b/c i have heard no one question his ability to stay at catcher while i have heard some questions about beckham at short. either way, both are unbelievable talents and any team is going to be lucky to get one. if i was the giants and decided i wanted a position player, it would be between these two.

1. Pedro Alvarez
2. Buster Posey
3. Gordon Beckham
4. Justin Smoak
5. Yonder Alonso
6. Jemile Weeks
7. Brett Wallace

i am still not ready to drop alonso. wallace is a great hitter, but i have also heard people questioning his power. in the end they are pretty much the same player with wallace having a slight edge in athleticism.

by fewgoodcards on Apr 14, 2008 2:22 PM EDT 0 recs

RE

Ya know, originally I had Posey ahead of Smoak and behind Beckham. But, I switched it this morning. I just think Smoak offensive potential is too great.

Even if Beckham moved off SS, I would not mind having him at 2B

by jsmall404 on Apr 14, 2008 2:35 PM EDT 0 recs

re

you can really go either way. my point was how many catchers do you see with shortstop athleticism, enough arm to be a lights out closer, and a plus bat? with beckham you have an average defensive middle infielder with 20-25 homer pop. i think there are a lot more of those in the major leagues, but like i said i would love to get either one of those guys.

by fewgoodcards on Apr 14, 2008 2:45 PM EDT up 0 recs

RE

But, do you see Posey hitting for alot of power?? He has that wondferul short great stroke which visions ofhim well above .300. But, he would have to add some strength to hit for plus power.

I would disagree that there "are alot of those guys" who has 20-25 HR pop from the middle INF.
Cano, Utley, Khalil Green, Peralta, Kinsler..I would imagine I am missing 1 or 2.

But you are right, there are more hitting MINF than hitting catchers.

by jsmall404 on Apr 14, 2008 3:31 PM EDT 0 recs

power

i don't see him hitting for a lot of power, but i think he can hit 15 homers and maybe even have a 20 homer season some year. when you combine that with the ability to hit .300, that is a pretty special bat for a catcher. especially one that projects to be above average defensively.

as for MIF with 20-25 homer pop, chase utley, jimmy rollins, ian kinsler, hanley ramirez, dan uggla, khalil green, j.j. hardy, troy tulowitzki, carlos guillen, johnny peralta, juan uribe, brandon phillips, and jeff kent all hit 20 or more last year. there were also several more in the 17-19 range that just missed.

as for catchers, there were only 2 who hit .300 last year and one of them was victor martinez who doesn't exactly help you behind the plate. there were 9 catchers who hit 15 or more homers, but only 4 of them hit over .270 so obviously if posey can hit .300 with 15 bombs a season and solid defense you are talking about a perennial all-star. i just don't think you can project beckham to be better than most of the guys at his position like you can with posey.

by fewgoodcards on Apr 14, 2008 3:58 PM EDT up 0 recs

PS

What are the chances you think of either of them dropping to number 13??
"Slim to none and Slim is riding on a horse outa town"

by jsmall404 on Apr 14, 2008 3:33 PM EDT 0 recs

no chance

unfortunately my guy is tanner scheppers and he just keeps going up and up. my other guy at the beginning was harold martinez, but he has dropped like a rock and isn't an option. i also thought melville might be a nice pick being the hometown boy and all, but i saw him get rocked on saturday and he didn't even look like a first round pick to me and especially not the 13th overall pick. i am having to find a whole new group of players for that 13th pick now.

by fewgoodcards on Apr 14, 2008 3:41 PM EDT up 0 recs

What happened to Martinez?

This winter everybody seemed to be really high on him but now it sounds like he is not even a first rounder. Has it just been poor play his senior season or is there something else that has caused everyone to jump off the Harold Martinez bandwagon?

by DiegoAsFan on Apr 14, 2008 3:48 PM EDT up 0 recs

RE

Saberscouting.com did a great article on him.

In short, he has looked poor at the plate this year and his hitting ability is in serious question for a first rounder. Still has pretty good power and good fielding abilities.

by jsmall404 on Apr 14, 2008 4:11 PM EDT up 0 recs

H-Mart

It's amazing how everybody is so down on Harold Martinez now. Judging him solely by his performance so far this spring would be falling victim to small sample size, no? I find it very odd that so many people who were drooling all over him just a few months, or even weeks, ago have now changed their tunes.

by jonk1982 on Apr 14, 2008 9:27 PM EDT up 0 recs

RE

I do not think it is because of his performance - as in high school numbers. I think it has to do with what scouts see as to why his numbers are down...

technically, every high school player has a small sample size..only 25 or so games..one team may see a guy 3 -5 games..but in those 15-20 at bats, you can learn alot in terms of projection.

true, he played great last summer, but dosent seem to have improved on that.

by jsmall404 on Apr 14, 2008 11:18 PM EDT up 0 recs

lol

yeah all your guys are gonna be gone. I think overall Melville shows good projection..to me, he is like Chris Withrow last year.

How do you feel about Aaron Hicks and Jemile Weeks?

I said before that I think the Cards are gonna wind up reaching for a guy because guys they like will go right in front of them.

by jsmall404 on Apr 14, 2008 4:13 PM EDT up 0 recs

weeks

i like weeks, but i still think he is a bit of a reach at 13. he will probably be a solid everyday player which is all you can really ask for in a draft pick, but i would like some more upside at 13. when you go from looking at guys like posey and beckham to weeks, you aren't even in the same league talent wise.

hicks is the complete opposite. he could be an absolute superstar, but he is so raw that he could never make it out of A-ball and be in the rookie leagues trying to remember how to pitch in 3 years. the cardinals haven't really done much with these type of picks in recent years, just look at the careers of daryl jones and tommy pham. when the cardinals take a high school player in the first round, it usually is a guy with polished skills at the plate like daric barton, colby rasmus, and pete kozma. hicks just doesn't fit that profile, and i'm not really sure there is even a guy they can reach a little bit for that fits that mold either.

by fewgoodcards on Apr 14, 2008 4:25 PM EDT up 0 recs

worse than fantasy baseball posts

If you are going to pimp your own site here, you should at least include actual content beyond just typing filler filler filler.

advertising your site on another blog is frowned upon throughout the Internet. At least PRETEND like you are giving something to other people beyond just showing them a link.

by Galt on Apr 14, 2008 3:44 PM EDT 0 recs

+1

This is getting annoying.

by deezle on Apr 14, 2008 4:15 PM EDT up 0 recs

Why?

Would I retype a whole post that I already posted when someone can just click a link?

The idea wasn't to show original content, it was to generate discussion,which it did.

It is not like I asked everyone to comment on my blog.

chill

by jsmall404 on Apr 14, 2008 4:10 PM EDT 0 recs

and

i didnt type filler filler filler - i copy and pasted =)

by jsmall404 on Apr 14, 2008 4:14 PM EDT 0 recs

great

copy and post the entire original post. if people think it's good, they'll bookmark your blog. This is incredibly poor form. And you have to realize that posting your blog on another (much more heavily trafficked) one without permission is frowned upon everywhere.

by Galt on Apr 14, 2008 4:24 PM EDT up 0 recs

The dont read

simple as that. stop bitching about it.

look at the fan posts..then look at the ones who get the most comments. enough said.

if john sickels emails me and asks me to stop, i will.

The whole purpose to exchange views and opinions..its not about who gets credit for what. you think i can if my blog gets 15 more views? i dont get paid for that..i could care less.

by jsmall404 on Apr 14, 2008 6:55 PM EDT 0 recs

Under the title is says

"community blog posts and discussion"

how is that not what this is? its not like i am making money off of people visiting my blog..as u can see there is no advertising or anything on there

by jsmall404 on Apr 14, 2008 7:11 PM EDT 0 recs

Im actually a fan of his blog

The only way I found out about it is through him posting it and im glad he did. As a prospect fan I like all the sites i can find and his is pretty good. Its not like people are going to stop coming here and just go there, its just now another source of info. Chill out people

by FishHead on Apr 15, 2008 1:04 PM EDT up 0 recs