Top 50 Hitters Pre-Season List Status Report
by John Sickels on May 26, 2008 5:40 PM EDT
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PrintHere is the Top 50 Hitters list....this was the PRE-SEASON LIST from the 2008 Baseball Prospect Book. Let's see how things look as of May 25th.
1) Jay Bruce, OF, Cincinnati Reds: Destroying Triple-A, .364/.393/.630.
2) Evan Longoria, 3B, Tampa Bay Rays: Hitting .246/.319/.472. Good power, the rest will come.
3) Colby Rasmus, OF, St. Louis Cardinals: Struggling in Triple-A, .186/.280/.301. Too young to give up on, but needs a good second half.
4) Joey Votto, 1B, Cincinnati Reds: .259/.324/.519 in the majors. Good power.
5) Andy LaRoche, 3B, Los Angeles Dodgers: Injured, now back in action in Triple-A and hitting .263/.471/.491. Blake DeWitt has moved past him.
6) Cameron Maybin, OF, Florida Marlins: Hitting .239/.363/.403 with 10 steals in Double-A. Strikeouts are very high.
7) Matt Wieters, C, Baltimore Orioles: Monster season, .348/.435/.617 in High-A.
8) Jacoby Ellsbury, OF, Boston Red Sox: Hitting .290/.390/.428 with 19 steals in the majors.
9) Andrew McCutchen, OF, Pittsburgh Pirates: Hitting .282/.374/.446 with 14 steals in Triple-A.
10) Jed Lowrie, SS, Boston Red Sox: Horrible spring training and slow start in Triple-A, but has hit .310/.340/.476 in 17 games for the Red Sox.
11) Carlos Gonzalez, OF, Oakland Athletics: .294/.346/.429 in Triple-A.
12) Chase Headley 3B, San Diego Padres: .297/.363/.520 in Triple-A.
13) Jeff Clement, C, Seattle Mariners: .386/.526/.727 in Triple-A, .167 in 15 games for the Mariner. He just needs to play.
14) Brandon Wood, 3B, Los Angeles Angels: Strikeouts are eating him up and stock is dropping. .270/.321/.557 in Triple-A but with poor peripherals. Needs change of scenery.
15) Taylor Teagarden, C, Texas Rangers: struggled with Ks in Double-A, but hitting .292/.452/.438 in 15 games in Triple-A.
16) Reid Brignac, SS, Tampa Bay Rays: Hot lately, up to .286/.313/.487 in Triple-A.
17) Daric Barton, 1B, Oakland Athletics: Hitting .217/.333/.325 in the majors. Good discipline but power???
18) Lars Anderson, 1B, Boston Red Sox: .277/.383/.484 in the California League. Killing lefties but can't hit RHP for some reason. That should change.
19) Matt LaPorta, OF, Milwaukee Brewers: .297/.410/.588 in Double-A with adequate defense.
20) Geovany Soto, C, Chicago Cubs: .314/.414/.601 for the Cubs. Doing great, exceeding even the positive expectations I had for him.
21) Matt Antonelli, 2B, San Diego Padres: .185/.330/.315 in Triple-A. Good strike zone judgment but nothing else.
22) Elvis Andrus, SS, Texas Rangers: Hitting .274/.323/.320 with 14 steals. No power, but showing speed and defense, still very young.
23) Travis Snider, OF, Toronto Blue Jays: Hitting .206/.336/.381 since moving up to Double-A. High strikeout rate an issue, but drawing walks and very young.
24) Fernando Martinez, OF, New York Mets: .280/.314/.408 in Double-A. Remember his age...just 19.
25) Jose Tabata, OF, New York Yankees: Hitting .235/.322/.294 in Double-A. No power, but just 19.
26) Mike Moustakas, SS, Kansas City Royals: .244/.299/.369 for Low-A Burlington. Horrible in April, has been OK in May. Expect heatup in second half.
27) Jason Heyward, OF, Atlanta Braves: Hitting .320/.359/.469 with eight steals. Doing very well thus far.
28) Jordan Shafer, OF, Atlanta Braves: Suspended due to alleged HGH use.
29) Steve Pearce, 1B-OF, Pittsburgh Pirates: .253/.302/.404 in Triple-A. Not sure what's going on here. Did he hit over his head last season?
30) Wladimir Balentien, OF, Seattle Mariners: .217 in 20 games for the Mariners but with four homers. Expect erratic OBP and BA in short term but good power.
31) Brandon Jones, OF, Atlanta Braves: .282/.358/.410 in Triple-A. Expect he will heat up, just needs a chance to play.
32) J.R. Towles, C, Houston Astros: Hitting .150 in36 games for Houston, losing the Battle of the NL Central Rookie Catchers to Soto handily. Looks like he was rushed.
33) Hank Conger, C, Los Angeles Angels: Injured.
34) Chris Marrero, 1B, Washington Nationals: Hitting .250//.339/.428 in the Carolina League, almost the same as last year at the same level. Still very young.
35) Desmond Jennings, OF, Tampa Bay Rays: Injured.
36) Angel Villalona, 3B, San Francisco Giants: .242/.296/.436 in the Sally League. As expected, good power, very young, very raw.
37) Carlos Triunfel, SS, Seattle Mariners: .280/.320/.364 before being suspended for unclear reasons. Rumored to be on the trade block already, which really makes you wonder about his future.
38) Michael Burgess, OF, Washington Nationals: .239/.311/.503 in the Sally League. Excellent power, high strikeout rate thus far.
39) Chris Carter, 1B, Oakland Athletics: .230/.342/.497 in the Cal League, 11 homers. Impressive power, high strikeouts, draws walks.
40) Josh Vitters, 3B, Chicago Cubs: 3-for-14 in the Midwest League. No one is worried yet, due to his age.
41) Christopher Davis, 3B, Texas Rangers: .331/.378/.593 in Double-A, continues to put up monster numbers.
42) Bill Rowell, 3B, Baltimore Orioles: .282/.347/.435 for Frederick, keep in mind that he's 19.
43) Chin-Lung Hu, SS, Los Angeles Dodgers: .185/.269/.200 in 35 games for the Dodgers, in the majors for his glovework.
44) Justin Maxwell, OF, Washington Nationals: .246/.386/.486, 13 steals. Features speed, walks, and power, and batting average starting to come up.
45) Mat Gamel, 3B, Milwaukee Brewers: .364/.430/.647 in Double-A, monster season. Defense still in question.
46) Ben Revere, OF, Minnesota Twins: .404/.454/.528 with 10 steals in 21 games since being activated for Beloit. Obviously excellent so far.
47) Austin Jackson, OF, New York Yankees: .274/.365/.411 in Double-A, holding his own but not dominating.
48) Christopher Nelson, SS, Colorado Rockies: .232/.304/.351 in Double-A, not making an easy transition from A-ball.
49) Carlos Gomez, OF, Minnesota Twins: .270/.300/.411 with 16 steals for the Twins. A player with great strengths (speed, defense, developing power) and great weaknesses (horrible plate discipline and OBP, overall erratic play). Center field version of a young Cristian Guzman at this point.
50) Brent Lillibridge, SS, Atlanta Braves: .183/.244/.248 in Triple-A, but with nine steals. Strike zone judgment a big issue.
Overall I'm happy with the way the list is working out. There are a few guys I'm worried about (Brandon Wood foremost) but in general the success rate seems good and most of the guys who are struggling still have time to turn things around.
Remember, this was the PRESEASON LIST. I do updated lists for Rotowire and the Baseball Prospect Report periodically.
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Gomez actually has a line of .279 .313 .421
and has a line of .296 .352 .481 in May which looks more like Torri Hunter than Guzman. I still don’t know what the kid will become unless he walks 50-60 times a year and cuts the K’s down between 100-120. If he can do that and keep developing power, he could be a quicker Granderson who struckout 174 times in his first full season but developed into one of the better all around centerfielders in the game. Gomez has a Beltran like Ceiling, but has a Gary Pettis Floor.
+1
I don’t get the Guzman comp at all. They both have speed but Gomez is a totally different type of athelete. Personally, I would compare his current performance to that of a young Devon White.
"When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him."
-Jonathan Swift
by King Billy Royal on May 26, 2008 6:42 PM EDT up reply actions
Gomez question
Gomez has less than the 130 Ab to qualify as a rookie, but he has 58 games in the MLB. Isn’t that more than the 40 games you’re allowed to qualify as a rookie? The thing is that BP and BA both have Gomez as a rookie as well.
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by Baseball Mastermind on May 28, 2008 5:38 PM EDT up reply actions
Just for the record
I know Gary Pettis was a terrific fielder, but he wasn’t exactly a very good hitter – For his career, he batted a .236/.332/.310 for an OPS+ of 80. I’m not certain if you realized this, but if you did, then oddly I’m higher than you are on Gomez, because I think he’ll almost certainly be better than that.
by OldProspects on May 26, 2008 6:51 PM EDT up reply actions
Brandon Wood
Look, I will be the first to agree he has not looked good in his limited action in LA, but the Angels are yanking him around yet like they did last year. Already called up 3 seperate times and has yet to get a full week’s worth of ABs. OK, he Ks a ton, but how come Mark Reynolds, who Ks at a higher rate than Wood, still plays everyday? Once the Angels essentially wrap up this division (late-June sorry A’s fans), give Wood a chance everyday…it has to affect him somewhat. Mike Scioscia must hate this kid.
It seems to me
like Wood has been remarkably consistent with the exception of his astounding year in 2005. In the minor leagues at least, he’s had a reasonably high batting average, very good power, and strikes out. A lot. It doesn’t seem like he’s significant progressed or regressed in the last few years, so I’m not quite certain why his stock still appears to be vacillating so greatly (though I do understand why people got so excited after 2005 and that excitement diminishing is certainly understandable). A potential SS with OPS in the minor leagues in the .900-area though still seems like a pretty good player to me.
by OldProspects on May 26, 2008 6:54 PM EDT up reply actions
doesn't everyone?
The Rays win 80 games and will ship you your favorite 6 pack or bottle of reasonable wine -Tdogg
I would sell Rays 89 til my fucking face caved in - ballyb
Max Ramirez
Based on his torrid start .379/.686/1.140, where would you put Max Ramirez at this point?
I recall he was the recipient of the “This Guy Can Freakin’ Hit” moniker in the book. Even if he can’t make it as a catcher, his numbers look like he could make it as a 1B or DH – both of which Texas needs.
If Gamel can approximate a Major League 3B defensively, you really think Bill Hall is gonna block him?
He's extremely quick and good.
Max Ramirez
I would say that Ramirez has moved into the top 15. He was a guy that was thought somewhat highly of before the season started and has absolutely gone crazy thus far. I would really like to hear who he reminds other people of.
let anthony reyes pitch and learn from his mistakes.
by thefordhamflash on May 26, 2008 10:26 PM EDT reply actions
He's hoping to be somewhere in the vicinity of Edgar Martinez or Travis Hafner
A guy who walks alot but doesn’t strike out too much and has excellent power. I think there is a reasonable chance that he could be of a similar quality at his peak
by OldProspects on May 27, 2008 11:00 AM EDT up reply actions
Chris Davis
Was promoted to the Rangers AAA squad in OKC over the weekend. Expect some form of roster movement to make room at 1B for him in AAA. His K and BB rate hasnt really improved dramtically, so this might finally be a true test of his hitting ability in AAA.
I thought Maybin was in AA
Go Pirates!!!
by cool hand Charlie on May 27, 2008 10:06 AM EDT reply actions
Jay Bruce
Bruce makes his big MLB debut tonight for the Reds. As a Louisville resident I have to say that I’ve seen him play several times this season and he’s the real deal. His plate presence is unbelievable.
Go Avs! Let's get some goals!
Why walk?
When you are hitting everything out of the park is there really a point in taking a walk? How is your boy Rasmus doing? Didn’t you used to say that he was a much better player than Bruce?
"When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him."
-Jonathan Swift
by King Billy Royal on May 27, 2008 5:27 PM EDT up reply actions
Bravesin07
Silenced!
Go Pirates!!!
by cool hand Charlie on May 28, 2008 7:55 AM EDT up reply actions
Still Do
His BB:K is atrocious, his BABIP is a ridiculously high .444 and HR/FB rate is an unsustainable 33%. 50 games is not nearly enough to change my mind.
I reject your reality and substitute my own.
by WayneCampbell08 on May 29, 2008 11:23 AM EDT up reply actions
Carlos Triunfel
is off that weird discipline-based suspension and raking. His line is up to .297/.345/.377, and he’s showing a bit more 2B power.
Jason Heyward and Freddie Freeman
Are both killin it in the Sally League! Heyward is now hitting .340 and Freeman is hitting .298 both have shown thier power stroke by hitting 7 HR a piece, Freeman has 17 doubles which lead the league and Heyward has 15.
Thoughts on a few players...
Travis Snider – First, I’m surprised to see him rated this low preseason, but this isn’t really the post to address that. I just pulled up his numbers today and see a line of 242/351/476, which is nearly 100 points of OPS higher than the posted numbers. Which says something about the fluidity of early season statistics. His K rate is still absurdly high, but if you’re looking for a silver lining, it’s dropped from 46% in April to 26% in May. Also, he’s increased his BB% this year, and with the weather heating up in the northeast, his injury healing, and BABIP a little low, I’d expect his number only to go up from here, which is saying something for a 20 year old in the Eastern League.
Mike Moustakas – “Horrible in April, has been OK in May.” Mous has posted a 300/343/570 line with 5 HR’s in May. As a 19 year old in the Midwest League, I’d say he’s been a bit better than “OK”. I agree with John, he’s due for a huge 2nd half.
Austin Jackson – “Holding his own but not dominating.” 285/377/440 with a solid K:BB rate is more than holding his own. Still youngish for the league, has really turned it up in May with a line of 309/400/568 and 3 HR’s. I love the fact that he’s almost doubled his BB rate from last year. He could be a top 10 guy by the end of the year.
Carlos Triunfel – 280/.327/.350 overall, but 379/414/470 in May. Considering he should be just finishing up his SR year of H.S. and preparing to get drafted, I’d say this guy is pretty good.
by ProspectTube.com on May 28, 2008 8:22 AM EDT reply actions
Moustakas "has been ok in May"
I would classify .300/.343/.570 in a pitcher’s league and a home pitcher’s park as better than “ok”. Consider him already “heated up.”
I probably disagree with you.
by Scott McKinney on May 28, 2008 12:58 PM EDT reply actions
Triunfel on trade block??
That’s the first I’ve heard anything such as that. Can you provide more details on what you’ve heard and where/from whom you heard it?
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