haven’t been mentioned yet in this thread. Anyone want to give it a go?

i just don’t see him as a starting outfielder. he’s got great defensive tools, and he’s starting to learn how to hit, but his plate discipline is terrible.

before the season, i supported giving golson a spot on the phillies 25 man roster with the justification being that if he’s ever going to learn how to hit, it’s gonna happen under charlie manuel and milt thompson’s tutelage. and even if that takes 2 or 3 years, golson is still a much more effective 5th OF than so taguchi. golson can actually play CF. golson can actually steal a base. and best of all, golson can actually throw a guy out from LF.

it didn’t happen, though, and i guess that’s okay considering the fact that golson has hit pretty well in AA, but i just don’t think he’s taken a big enough step forward to be considered in the top 100 of baseball.

marson can flat out hit, he has excellent plate discipline, and he’s been the starting catcher on two straight league championship teams (2006 SAL, 2007 FSL), so i’m pretty sure he knows how to call a game. i don’t really know how well those skills will hold up as he advances to the majors, but right now, his package looks quite good.

as for carrasco, he’s all kinds of solid, but he doesn’t stand out in any way. it’s hard to get much recognition like that, and even though he’s only 21, he’s been on the prospect radar for a long time, and SNTS could take him down to the 70-90 range, which lands him as a solid probable.

i’ll take schafer and flowers over hernandez and freeman most any day.

I’d guess Gorkys…

replace “will” with “with”

he has the tools to be rated highly. That being said, poor Tabata is totally overmatched at AA. He is the yungest OF in the league and it shows. He has the lowest OPS of any qualified OF in the EL. He might make the list on potential/upside but he has been rushed, IMHO. There is a lot to like about Montero but catching isn’t one of them. He is just a bat but could be a very useful one as he moves up. I have to go with alskor or McAllister. Not a bad prospect, just not top 100 IMO.

Overall, the Yankees farm system has taken a tumble. It is hard to believe they spend so much money on the draft and have so little to show. for it.

Was #41, not #14.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/rankings/top-100-prospects/2008/265658.html

I think Jackson moves up, but is a shade below the 10-20 range that was claimed above. That was the comment I was responding to. I say 20-30. Too many good players with great tools and less questions above him. Still a great prospect. He has held his own, as you said, and should move up… but holding your own doesnt typically launch a toolsy player in the top 20.

Tabata is… terrible. His HR totals from his four pro seasons are 3, 5, 5 and 3. He doesnt walk, and now we have off field problems. I think he gets dropped. If he does make it, he will be plummeting in the rankings. ARL only takes you so far… you still have to produce. Tabata has hung his hat for too long on a high average in the low minors and a good ARL. He is now batting .248/.320/.310. The way he has been handled is troubling as well.

Here’s another thing – shockingly, those high AVG years from Tabata were BABIP driven. He posted BABIPs of .363 and .360. So he had a couple years where he had artifically high batting averages inflated by luck. Other than that he has never hit at all. He has some tools, but there are a number of guys like this and I think most people would take Triunfel, Beltre, Tejeda, Inoa, etc… all over Tabata at this point. Even if we were looking to make a list of just “underperforming, toolsy, international signing, teenage prospects below AAA” Tejada would ranks kind of low on that list now. There are lots more guys with tools almost as good or better than Tabata that play up the middle positions and have done more with the bat. There’s still hope for him and I never write off a guy with tools, but he is now a far cry from an elite prospect. He has done pretty much nothing as a professional baseball player to demonstrate that he should be regarded as an elite prospect. The times he has performed relatively well look like the exceptions rather than the rule now.

McAllister – here’s the rub: look at just the AL East farm systems, and I find pitching prospects I like more and who have more impressive stuff and better resumes than McAllister all over the place. There are at least four guys on the Sox, maybe six on the Rays, and probably four on the Orioles. So, bare minimum that would roughly place McAllister somewhere around the 15th best pitching prospect in his own division. Im ignoring the Jays for now, but there are some arguments there even. McAllister is a nice prospect, and I think he is certainly underrated, but top 100 is a stretch for him at this point. If he had overwhelming stuff and the numbers he has I would say yes. If he had overwhelming numbers with the tools he has I would again put him in. But with those numbers and that stuff I cant see it.

I think of guys like Heath Rollins, who is way down the depth chart of Rays pitching prospects… I dont think McAllister really has any better claim than a guy like him. Theyre nice prospects, but top 100 is beyond them.

Well, I’m hesitant to call anyone a “lock” at this point, but I think that is ultimately the case for Hosmer and Mous. Cortes has a VERY good shot at being on there, but I’m also hesitant to predict the backend of the their.

I agree on Melville. Almost listed him and Montgomery as darkhorses, but obviously didn’t.