BA Eastern League Top 20

by wobatus on Oct 9, 2009 12:51 PM EDT

EASTERN LEAGUE
TOP 20 PROSPECTS

1. Pedro Alvarez, 3b, Altoona (Pirates)
2. Madison Bumgarner, lhp, Connecticut (Giants)
3. Kyle Drabek, rhp, Reading (Phillies)
4. Carlos Santana, c, Akron (Indians)
5. Jesus Montero, c, Trenton (Yankees)
6. Domonic Brown, of, Reading (Phillies)
7. Junichi Tazawa, rhp, Portland (Red Sox)
8. Wilson Ramos, c, New Britain (Twins)
9. Michael Taylor, of, Reading (Phillies)
10. Brad Lincoln, rhp, Altoona (Pirates)
11. Hector Rondon, rhp, Akron (Indians)
12. Josh Reddick, of, Portland (Red Sox)
13. Ike Davis, 1b, Binghamton (Mets)
14. Marc Rzepczynski, lhp, New Hampshire (Blue Jays)
15. Jose Tabata, of, Altoona (Pirates)
16. Scott Sizemore, 2b, Erie (Tigers)
17. Jake Arrieta, rhp, Bowie (Orioles)
18. Nick Weglarz, of, Akron (Indians)
19. Zach McAllister, rhp, Trenton (Yankees)
20. Brandon Snyder, 1b, Bowie (Orioles)

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Comments

Pretty Good list

I’d love to see who just missed….

21-25 ??? anyone anyone?

Deolis Guerra = Daniel Cabrera ?
I tend to think so

by SteveHoffmanSlowey on Oct 9, 2009 1:08 PM EDT reply actions

Avila

Alex Avila has to be in that mix.

by SBcaptain2 on Oct 9, 2009 1:29 PM EDT up reply actions

+1

President, Vice President and Secretary of the Casey Crosby Fanclub.

by David Tokarz on Oct 10, 2009 5:08 PM EDT up reply actions

Ruben Tejada, Strieby?

Maybe around there?

by wobatus on Oct 9, 2009 1:55 PM EDT up reply actions

Josh Thole?

"We're just as bad as the old Mets, but this time nobody's laughing"
-Dallas Green

by Stephen Schmidt on Oct 10, 2009 1:29 PM EDT up reply actions

3 catchers in the top 8

good league behind the dish…and i like each of the three as well, though i think only two make the majors at C

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

by biggentleben on Oct 9, 2009 1:08 PM EDT reply actions

I'm a Twins fan, and I really like Ramos

but I don’t know if he belongs above Michael Taylor or Hector Rondon…
but I’m OK with it

Deolis Guerra = Daniel Cabrera ?
I tend to think so

by SteveHoffmanSlowey on Oct 9, 2009 1:10 PM EDT up reply actions

agreed

I wonder who he’ll be traded to, since he won’t be starting in Minnesota any time soon, assuming a healthy mauer is there for a while.

by wobatus on Oct 9, 2009 1:54 PM EDT up reply actions

teach ramos 3b

then he and mauer could split between 3b and C ;)

in all seriousness, he could be a very big trading piece soon as i just don’t see how he fits into what they currently have….

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

by biggentleben on Oct 9, 2009 2:06 PM EDT up reply actions

Valencia is future 3B especially if he can keep his defense in tact

P.S. I thought the Twins kinda got screwed tonight at Yankee Stadium
they should have won that

Deolis Guerra = Daniel Cabrera ?
I tend to think so

by SteveHoffmanSlowey on Oct 9, 2009 10:30 PM EDT up reply actions

maybe, but

carlos gomez should’ve kept moving to 3rd.

by toonsterwu on Oct 9, 2009 11:18 PM EDT up reply actions

Joe Mauer the Trading piece ?

I think the way to go is Trade Morneau play Mauer at 1st base

and Ramos takes over at catcher

Deolis Guerra = Daniel Cabrera ?
I tend to think so

by SteveHoffmanSlowey on Oct 9, 2009 10:34 PM EDT up reply actions

i hope not!

mauer needs to be extended long term….the hometown boy getting away to the highest bidder could be the doom of that new stadium….

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

by biggentleben on Oct 10, 2009 3:13 PM EDT up reply actions

Mauer

I think its pretty good odds he walks after 2010

by NYSOX on Oct 10, 2009 8:12 PM EDT up reply actions

Sox fans generally think so

I’m doubtful.

by Fanon on Oct 11, 2009 10:55 AM EDT up reply actions

I think...

he stays.

by joegonzo on Oct 11, 2009 11:02 AM EDT up reply actions

I think it's 50/50 or better that he does

The man loves his home.

by Fanon on Oct 11, 2009 11:04 AM EDT up reply actions

Im not sure

He is from Minny,

it probably depends on how he feels about the twins committment to staying competitive around him, and how big a difference in money he is offered elsewhere.

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by jbluestone on Oct 11, 2009 6:24 PM EDT up reply actions

But this list makes me think seriously about canceling my subscription to BA. Arrieta ten spots behind Tazawa! I understand the Red Sox have a deep system, but I think their prospects have been overrated throughout the rankings.

by Birdfan01 on Oct 9, 2009 1:47 PM EDT reply actions

Just like Reddick being that high. I mean, really.

"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw

by squid92 on Oct 9, 2009 5:02 PM EDT up reply actions

I understand the beef with Tazawa

I agree with the placement to some degree, though. Tazawa is a very good prospect and isnt given enough credit.

Reddick? Reddick is a stud. Reddick is too low, easily.

by alskor on Oct 13, 2009 1:16 AM EDT up reply actions

boston guys

I think Tazawa is just okay . . .solid pitcher but nothing really stands out. Seems like a guy who could have a long career right around league average with a couple of seasons as outliers one way or the other.

Reddick is awesome, though. I think he has a very good chance at turning out like Jeff Francoeur was supposed to.

by mrkupe on Oct 13, 2009 9:41 PM EDT up reply actions

Ok, I guess I misphrased.

What I meant is that Reddick is ranked too low, but he’s STILL ranked over guys that are debatedly better than him.

"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw

by squid92 on Oct 16, 2009 4:27 PM EDT up reply actions

Was...

just thinking that, minus the subscription cancellation.

by killa on Oct 9, 2009 5:26 PM EDT up reply actions

+1 on Arrieta

I originally thought he should certainly be a top 10 guy, but then I looked at how strong this list is, and I thought, well, maybe not. But since I think he’s better than Tazawa, Lincoln, Rzepczynski, and Tabata, and maybe Sizemore, I think he should be closer to 12-13.

The wind is in the buffalo.

by journeymen on Oct 20, 2009 10:33 AM EDT up reply actions

Alvarez over Santana?

Kind of surprised to see Pedro over Carlos given the position value of catcher.

by FI2 on Oct 9, 2009 2:09 PM EDT reply actions

as opposed to

a firstbaseman. :)

Actually, they seem to think he can stay at third a few years. But what about Drabek over santana.

by wobatus on Oct 9, 2009 2:35 PM EDT up reply actions

Drabek over Santana shocked me, quite frankly. I mean, I know scouts love Drabek and have some concerns about Santana as a receiver, but quite frankly, I’d rather have Santana over Drabek in my system.

by PhillyFriar on Oct 9, 2009 10:58 PM EDT up reply actions

…and I just realized I said “quite frankly” twice in a span of two sentences. This is where I reveal myself to be Stephen A. Smith in disguise…

by PhillyFriar on Oct 9, 2009 10:58 PM EDT up reply actions

+1

by DJSlam on Oct 10, 2009 9:18 AM EDT up reply actions

Really...

I think Santana and Drabek are about even. Drabek has front of the roation potential. Pitchers like that are just as hard to find, if not harder to find, than an above average catcher.

by joegonzo on Oct 10, 2009 8:37 PM EDT up reply actions

I think Drabek is heavily overrated IMO reminds me of a Kyle Lohse type of pitcher

Great talent but could be a headcase.

by Bravesin07 on Oct 10, 2009 9:56 PM EDT up reply actions

is Lohse a head case?

dont recall that?

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by jbluestone on Oct 11, 2009 6:31 PM EDT up reply actions

oh yeah, Kyle Lohse is a headcase

Deolis Guerra = Daniel Cabrera ?
I tend to think so

by SteveHoffmanSlowey on Oct 12, 2009 2:32 AM EDT up reply actions

more top starters than catchers

You have Mauer, McCann, then Wieters and Posey coming on, how many other studs at C? With starters you have Lincecum, Sabathia, Hernandez, Greinke, Verlander, Beckett, Halladay, Carpenter, Lester, Santana, Wainwright…sure, some of them have had only this past year as a “great” year, but there are always far more “front of rotation” types than great catchers. Look at all the up and comers: Brett Anderson, Strasburg, Kershaw, Holland, Feliz, Hanson.

You kind of skewed it by comparing “front of rotation” types to merely “above-average” catchers.

Of course, you need more pitchers, but I think santana is far harder to replace as a prospect than Kyle Drabek.

by wobatus on Oct 11, 2009 10:22 AM EDT up reply actions

Drabek reminds me more of...

a Hanson than a Lohse. I would still take him over Santana and the Phillies are my least favorite team in sports.

by joegonzo on Oct 11, 2009 11:04 AM EDT up reply actions

Hanson never had a 7.1 K/9 rate in AA and never struckout less than 9.6 per 9

by Bravesin07 on Oct 11, 2009 12:47 PM EDT up reply actions

Lincoln

I’m surprised to see him rank that high, and, from John Manuel’s chat comments, it seems as if Moskos may be a better prospect (or at least on par) than Alderson.

by Jeff Reese on Oct 9, 2009 2:44 PM EDT reply actions

…IMO, Neither Alderson or Moskos are much to write home about. i’m not about to bet any kind of long-term success on pitchers who can’t fan more than 11% of the batters they face at AA.

Moskos season was about as good as it was the last two years according to FIP.

by WrenFGun on Oct 9, 2009 4:21 PM EDT up reply actions

I agree

And I wasn’t ever really high on Alderson, but that seems to be a pretty big fall in status in one year.

by Jeff Reese on Oct 9, 2009 4:26 PM EDT up reply actions

Moskos

He really didn’t pitch that much better this year, most of his gains being based on better luck. I really can’t see him as a major league starter outside of potential swingman duty . . .but he does have the plus of being a lefty with an okay idea of how to pitch. He’s going to have a major league job one day, even if it’s only as a lefty specialist.

It sounds like Alderson’s stuff just fell of a cliff this year. He’s still a good prospect (any 20 year old who can throw that many strikes against AA batters and do pretty well all things considered is), he just might be better suited as a pen guy. He could be an awfully good one too . . .fastball command and a good breaking ball is a recipe for success.

by mrkupe on Oct 9, 2009 5:02 PM EDT up reply actions

I want to find something to really criticize

but I can’t. List looks fairly solid. Ramos is probably a bit high for me, but we’re talking a 2-3 spot difference, not the biggest deal. There’s probably some guys I’d put ahead of Snyder at 20, but that’s not bad. I prefer Rondon to Lincoln, but that’s 1 spot.

This may be the best list they’ve put out so far, imo.

by toonsterwu on Oct 9, 2009 2:49 PM EDT reply actions

Yea...

you could make an argument for to put Rondon over Lincoln, but you could also make an argument for Lincoln over Rondon. Not that big of a deal. This list is very good.

by joegonzo on Oct 10, 2009 8:38 PM EDT up reply actions