BA Southern League Top 20
SOUTHERN LEAGUE TOP 20 PROSPECTS
1. Mike Stanton, of, Jacksonville Suns (Marlins)
2. Dustin Ackley, 2b, West Tenn Diamond Jaxx (Mariners)
3. Michael Pineda, rhp, West Tenn Diamond Jaxx (Mariners)
4. Mike Minor, lhp, Mississippi Braves
5. Brett Lawrie, 2b, Huntsville Stars (Brewers)
6. Dee Gordon, ss, Chattanooga Lookouts (Dodgers)
7. Devin Mesoraco, c, Carolina Mudcats (Reds)
8. Brett Jackson, of, Tennessee Smokies (Cubs)
9. Chris Archer, rhp, Tennessee Smokies (Cubs)
10. Matt Dominguez, 3b, Jacksonville Suns (Marlins)
11. Chris Withrow, rhp, Chattanooga Lookouts (Dodgers)
12. Alex Torres, lhp, Montgomery Biscuits (Rays)
13. Trayvon Robinson, of, Chattanooga Lookouts (Dodgers)
14. Brandon Guyer, of, Tennessee Smokies (Cubs)
15. David Sappelt, of, Carolina Mudcats (Reds)
16. Alex Liddi, 3b/1b, West Tenn Diamond Jaxx (Mariners)
17. Brandon Beachy, rhp, Mississippi Braves
18. Brent Morel, 3b, Birmingham Barons (White Sox)
19. Alex Cobb, rhp, Montgomery Biscuits (Rays)
20. Jerry Sands, of/1b, Chattanooga Lookouts (Dodgers)
Quite a few great names on this list with Stanton, Minor, & Morel all seeing time on their MLB squad. I also think it is interesting that you see 3 MI in the top 6 (although it looks as if Lawrie will not remain there.) Guyer & Sappelt are names I am not as familiar with from this list.
From the article:
The Top 20 would have been even stronger if Tennessee shortstop Starlin Castro and Mississippi righthanders Julio Teheran and Randall Delgado hadn't just missed the cutoff.
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True
He’s not officially a prospect as he had 359 MLB at bats, but he must have had enough SAL plate appearances to still qualify for this list.
The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. It reminds us of all that once was good, and that could be again.
He might be the only one on the list, or any recent top list to start a postseason game.
"Check out this bitchin' homemade tesla coil!"
by bwellnjonesco on Oct 7, 2010 1:16 PM EDT up reply actions
MWL might end up having the better stars, Southern will have more regulars.
by Kenneth Arthur on Oct 7, 2010 12:25 PM EDT up reply actions
Eh. It ought to have more regulars than the MWL by simple virtue of being a AA list vs. a low A list. I don’t really see it standing out though. I love the depth, but I think there are pretty major questions for every prospect from 1 on down; no one I’m completely sold on or in love with.
Michael Pineda.
I don’t care if anyone calls me a homer. Following him for the last couple of years (minus the injuries) is the definition of falling in love.
by Kenneth Arthur on Oct 7, 2010 3:37 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah, he’s one of those guys I can’t make up my mind on. I love the fastball, build, and control, but it bothers me that I’ve never seen anyone talk up his secondary stuff or had it stand out to me in my limited viewing of him. Good reasons to love him, good reasons to remain cautious. Same story for pretty much all of them to me in that respect; Stanton power v. contact, Ackley bat v. defense, Gordon tools v. body, Jackson tools/OBP v. power/Ks, Dominguez defense v. bat, so on and so forth.
Yeah, thats because his secondary stuff has always been a work in progress.
But they did progress this season, and by the end of the year he looked pretty damn good. Don’t let his AAA numbers fool ya, he was pretty dominant at times and this coming from a guy who had pitched way more than he did the previous season and at times was touching the high-90’s. He might never become a “#1” but he’s going to be exciting to watch. It’s so rare to see a guy that young and with that kind of velocity also have stellar control.
by Kenneth Arthur on Oct 7, 2010 4:14 PM EDT up reply actions
Actually, his AAA numbers seemed fine to me given his age and pitching in Tacoma/PCL; better K/9 balanced by slightly worse BB/9 and large spike in HR/9. I think Pineda is at this point one of the safer pitching prospects in the minors, but I need to see at least one secondary pitch play up before I can really buy him as a front-end guy. As is, I keep thinking Mike Pelfrey; solid pitcher on any staff, just not an all-star and someone who may take awhile to settle until he can keep hitters from sitting on the fastball.
Reactions
-I was a bit surprised Liddi wasn’t higher until I read the negative reports on his range at third.
-Bullish ranking on Withrow. I couldn’t justify taking him over Trayvon
-Jerry Sands fans will not be pleased, but I like the placement
-Glad to see Dominguez was ranked about where I’d put him
http://bullpenbanter.com/
Agreed on Dominguez
as well as preferring Trayvon to Withrow at this point. I’ll disagree with you on Sands though. I’m not his biggest fan, but I don’t see much reason to put guys like Sappelt, Guyer, and Liddi ahead of him(especially with the comments on each guy). Speaking of Liddi, e-mail me if you want to change his ranking at all.
http://bullpenbanter.com
I'm just happy Sands made the list
Though I think he should be a bit higher, maybe 1 or 2.
"If we hit that bull's eye, the rest of the dominoes will fall like a house of cards. Checkmate"
I agree
Im happy he is getting some love. You would think the fact that he has defense in RF, LF, or 1B, and has played CF and even a game at 3B, I think he should be considered a very well rounded prospect, no matter his age. I think that is what kept him from being a little higher is his age(If I had to guess)
I will say this, if Sands has a good AFL, HOLY S**T. We actually have a 3B prospect…
by lakersdodgersyankees4life on Oct 8, 2010 12:54 AM EDT up reply actions
i think potential helped Withrow
He still has the fastball that touches 99 in starts, and he kept the Ks high. Everything else sucked, but he still has #1 potential. That is higher than a solid, everyday CF, IMO. If it was only this season, I could see a legit argument for Trayvon over Chris, but I think managers/scouts thought about Withrow’s potential
by lakersdodgersyankees4life on Oct 8, 2010 12:52 AM EDT up reply actions
I thought his stuff was down this year?
Or at least highly inconsistent from start to start?
http://bullpenbanter.com/
the stuff that was down
was the stuff that had been inconsistent in A ball. His curve was missing because, according to the minor league expert at TBLA, he was basically getting A ball hitters to chase the curve that broke through the zone but ended up a ball, and AA hitters spit on it. That could be an explanation of his walks/Ks being up and down, respectively, as he needed to throw more pitches and his bread and butter pitch was now a ball.
The change up has always been a work in progress, and has always been inconsistent
by lakersdodgersyankees4life on Oct 8, 2010 7:49 PM EDT up reply actions
so basically
He’s a one pitch pitcher at the AA level right now?
From what Ive heard
He has the plus fastball, his curve is a sweeping one that he needs to refine(sometimes he has it, sometimes he doesnt), and his change is a work in progress. So 1.5? haha.
by lakersdodgersyankees4life on Oct 8, 2010 8:10 PM EDT up reply actions
Cubs
Mildly surprised that Guyer snuck on that high … I thought he had a possible chance at end of top 20, but 14 is relatively safe. He still seems like an Eric Byrnes-type to me.
I thought Chris Carpenter had a chance at back end top 20 after his strong finish, but can understand him being off.
Will be curious at what the Southern League comments on Archer/BJax were to lead to the flipflop of them from FSL to SL.
Nice List
Don’t let Adam Foster get wind of Gordon making the Top 10, lol jk.
I’m actually surprised Mesoraco wasn’t ranked higher considering the press he got this year though I think that ranking might be appropriate.
LOL
Yeah my first thought when I saw the list was “I thought Dee Gordon wasn’t that good.” I happen to totally disagree with Foster’s take on Gordon, and evidentially so do the guys at BA.
We already know
BA likes Gordon. That’s no surprise.
Yeah, Gordon is exactly the kind of player that BA would buy into
They love the tools, yo.
Baseball is my preferred sport. It should be yours, too.
I'm an editor for Beyond the Box Score, an SB Nation blog.
by Satchel Price on Oct 7, 2010 9:36 PM EDT up reply actions
Gordon
Adam isn’t the only guy down on Gordon. I have seen him play 10+ times the last two seasons. He might be an average regular, but that is likely his ceiling. He will be a much better fantasy player than real player because of the steals.
Call me a homer if you want, but I just can’t see ranking him ahead of Devin Mesoraco. It certainly can’t be because of position scarcity and does anyone really think Dee Gordon is going to outhit Mesoraco? That one just doesn’t add up for me.
Chase 'Arnaud
I’m sticking this here for no real reason, but Iw s thinking he seemed to have a poor year, and overall it wasn’t great but he had a decent second half and his overall line isn’t horrible. Pretty certain he won’t make the Eastern league top 20 at BA, but .247/.331/.377 isn’t godawful considering his low babip. I think someone said he was sick early in the year. 33/7 in steals. Maybe he’s not mroe than a utility guy, but maybe he could actually become a decent ss. He’ll be 24 next year in AAA so he better get hopping. I thought of him because he’s more one of PP’s high floor guys than Gordon.
I don't think his defense is SS caliber
And I’m not sure if his bat is good enough to hold down 2B.
http://bullpenbanter.com/
2b or not 2b
Ugh. Sorry.
I heard his D is ok, but maybe not top-flight quality. His line was not great this year at the plate, but he had a lowish babip and it seemed he picked it up somewhat in the 2nd half. I was trying to find silver linings in what seemed like a down year. Not super-toolsy, or a ton of power (6 homers), but he has doubles and triples power, nice steals percentage and total steals number, some walks, maybe a few too many Ks with the lack of power. The real drag is the batting average.
He does seem like he’ll end up utility, but then again, the Pirates aren’t laoded at ss. Friday is similar, a better glove, more walks, but not the steals. Cedeno, Ciriaco, Diaz, Holt (he had a nice year, but I don’t think much is thought of him as a prospect), Jordy Mercer.
If Alvarez is moved to first eventually, walker may go back to 3rd and second might open up.
Anyway, this year was disappointing but keeping my eye out for a bounceback year.
I agree on Mesoraco...
granted, I haven’t watched him extensively yet, but just based on the reports coming out about him, his overall numbers, and the position he plays, you’d be hard pressed to rank Gordon higher than him. Though we’re obviously talking about two very different skill sets, so they might be valuing the kind of defense Gordon is expected to give, and to a lesser extent the kind of speed he’ll bring on the base paths.
by Alex Eisenberg on Oct 7, 2010 9:12 PM EDT up reply actions
+1
Baseball is my preferred sport. It should be yours, too.
I'm an editor for Beyond the Box Score, an SB Nation blog.
by Satchel Price on Oct 7, 2010 9:36 PM EDT up reply actions
When does the Hall Pass expire
Cant believe they still mention Gordons lack of baseball expierence. “He is still learning many of the games nuances, which explains why he led the league in caught stealing and errors.” The kid has played three pro seasons. Has had pro coaching and over 1300 abs.
by down-n-dirty on Oct 8, 2010 10:19 AM EDT up reply actions
Doesn't mean he still isn't raw?
He made a jump from low-A to AA this year and held his plate discipline. That IS progress.
http://bullpenbanter.com/
He made progress....but
He has played 3 pro seasons, over 300 games. Thats is a ton of expierence. More than your average college player who gets drafted after 3 years. Its time to evaluate him like everyone else. No more excuses.
by down-n-dirty on Oct 8, 2010 11:36 AM EDT up reply actions
The average college player has been playing since he was 6 years old
http://bullpenbanter.com/
by Jeff Reese on Oct 8, 2010 12:02 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
Gordon never picked up baseball until his senior yr of high school?
by down-n-dirty on Oct 8, 2010 12:53 PM EDT up reply actions
Correct
He was more interested in basketball. And on top of that, he was academically ineligible to play baseball when he was attending his junior college.
http://bullpenbanter.com/
Things like caught stealing
can be a product of being aggressive. They’re there to learn, not win titles.
He has played 3 seasons
but still has only played for only 4 years…
by lakersdodgersyankees4life on Oct 8, 2010 7:49 PM EDT up reply actions
List from 5 years ago
*1. Delmon Young, of, Montgomery
*2. Jeremy Hermida, of, Carolina
*3. Jeff Francoeur, of, Mississippi
*4. Chris Young, of, Birmingham
*5. Chad Billingsley, rhp, Jacksonville
*6. Joel Guzman, ss, Jacksonville
*7. Andy LaRoche, 3b, Jacksonville
*8. Felix Pie, of, West Tenn
*9. Brian McCann, c, Mississippi
*10. Russell Martin, c, Jacksonville
*11. Scott Olsen, lhp, Carolina
*12. Matt Murton, of, West Tenn
*13. Bobby Jenks, rhp, Birmingham
*14. Jonathan Broxton, rhp, Jacksonville
*15. Rich Hill, lhp, West Tenn
*16. Dustin Nippert, rhp, Tennessee
*17. Ricky Nolasco, rhp, West Tenn
*18. Renyel Pinto, lhp, West Tenn
*19. Chuck James, lhp, Mississippi
*20. Elijah Dukes, of, Montgomery
*Has played in major leagues
Everyone made the majors, but there have been quite a few disappointments, especially in the upper half of the list. Seems odd for it to be that way since we’re into AA.
http://bullpenbanter.com
Yeah, that list manages to be simultaneously impressive for every last player making the majors and, other than Guzman, some sort of contribution, and disappointing for almost all of them falling short, often well-short, of expected value to date from what looked like a loaded high minors league at the time.
Yeah
At first read, you’re like, ‘whoa, what a stacked league,’ and then you remember, ‘oh wait, but Delmon and Hermida and LaRoche and Pie and etc have all seemed to underperform.’
It’s still an impressive list, as Billingsley, McCann, Nolasco, Broxton, Jenks and Martin have met or exceeded expectations.
Matt Murton just broke Ichiro's single season hits record in Japan. So that's something.
by Kenneth Arthur on Oct 7, 2010 1:53 PM EDT up reply actions
murton
Matt Murton is a very good player. it was really strange to me that he never got more of a chance here.
I feel like
it’s a situation where he needs the right opportunity, and since too many teams focus on power in the corner OF spots, particularly LF, Murton just never got that 2nd chance.
Cubs seems like a weird environment
A lot of media and the pressure of high payroll and expectations to compete maybe.
I've always been a Murton fan
I was really hoping the Reds would acquire him and throw him in LF after Dunn left. He seems like a great role player on the right team. Maybe this season helps get him another look with MLB teams, though LF is not usually a position of crying need in most organizations.
by blackoutyears on Oct 8, 2010 12:48 PM EDT up reply actions
I don't know. I think the list is a bit better than that.
Delmon Young, 46 doubles and 21 homers at age 24. There’s a good chance Young could go on to have a pretty good career and perhaps we should never have expectations as high as what we had for Young.
Chris Young’s career has been up and down, but its up right now.
Broxton struggled this year but over his career he’s been one of the top 5 relief pitchers in the game.
Billingsley has had his struggles, he’s also been an all-star. Career ERA of 3.55.
Brian McCann is Brian McCann.
Ricky Nolasco is actually really, really good.
I’d say this is still the best “List from 5 years ago” yet.
by Kenneth Arthur on Oct 7, 2010 1:57 PM EDT up reply actions
Sure
I’d expect the lists from AA and AAA leagues to look better than the ones from A ball down because you’re starting to see the wheat separated from the chaff, so to speak, at that point. That being said, there are a lot of disappointments here in the top 10, even if a couple of those guys look to be turning things around.
http://bullpenbanter.com
It’s certainly not a bad list, but yeah, it’s just one that I and I think many others still expected much more from. McCann, Nolasco, Jenks, and Billingsley have all delivered expected or better returns (did think Billingsley had more legitimate ace upside in him, but can’t knock any pitching prospect for developing into what he has). But, I still expected so much more from that class, offhand probably one of the most highly regarded in recent memory at that level; for me, Ackley wouldn’t have cracked the top 5 of that list, and I’m not entirely sure Pineda would have made the top 10.
You only read half my post, didn't you?
It wasn’t even that many words . . .
I think the Billingsley line
should be more along the lines of “he was hurt for a year and the LA media freaked out. He since came back and shut up every critic that turned on him”.
Not a reflection on your post, but I feel like the LA media has enjoyed waiting for Billingsley and Broxton to struggle and then tear them to shreds, no matter their past performance
by lakersdodgersyankees4life on Oct 8, 2010 12:59 AM EDT up reply actions
I don't understand the Billingsley hate I saw everywhere
He’s 90% of Kershaw in most areas with 10% more groundballs. He’s nasty.
Bullpen Banter
www.bullpenbanter.com
twitter: @alskor
Me neither
Many people in LA that truly dont follow baseball sometimes look for people to rip, and it ended up being Billingsley.
by lakersdodgersyankees4life on Oct 8, 2010 7:52 PM EDT up reply actions
I was thinking of the ****storm from my top 25 and under rankings
People were flabbergasted by my placement of Bills…
Bullpen Banter
www.bullpenbanter.com
twitter: @alskor
Is that the one where you put him one ahead of Kershaw?
I loved that placement, though I still thought Kershaw should be one of the top 5 and Bills should be 6-8.
"If we hit that bull's eye, the rest of the dominoes will fall like a house of cards. Checkmate"
Guzman :(
Laroche :( Martin :( Broxton (recently) :(
At least Bills is the man.
"If we hit that bull's eye, the rest of the dominoes will fall like a house of cards. Checkmate"
Joel Guzman
I’d actually looked him up earlier this year, and he had an interesting year in the EL at the not too terribly old age of 25. I wonder if the O’s would ever give him a shot.
by blackoutyears on Oct 8, 2010 12:52 PM EDT up reply actions
It seems like he's been around forever because he was in the Dodgers system at 16 years old
At 26 next year with the year he had in AAA this year I don’t see why he shouldn’t get a shot somewhere on that crappy Orioles team.
"If we hit that bull's eye, the rest of the dominoes will fall like a house of cards. Checkmate"
Just missed
Kris Negron
Amaury Rivas
Robinson Chirinos
Juan Abreu
Konrad Schmidt
http://bullpenbanter.com
Interesting to see Chirinos listed
I know BA really likes him, but I was curious how his age would factor into the discussion. Seems like more and more people are touting Chirinos as a possible starting backstop in the bigs …
Not sure Kenley met the inning qualifications, or whatever else they may use
Rubby was only 15 on the MWL list plus some league observers probably never saw him because he only pitched 8 games. Probably deserved an HM, but he’s not a glaring omission.
Pretty much
De la Rosa was another guy praised by a couple of managers but brushed off by others. His numbers were good — 3-1, 1.41 in eight starts — but the fact that he spent more of the season in the Midwest League meant that several scouts and managers never saw him pitch in the SL
http://bullpenbanter.com
it was covered on TBLA
basically with 8 starts, that means 3 managers saw him pitch a few times, and no one else did…
by lakersdodgersyankees4life on Oct 8, 2010 1:01 AM EDT up reply actions
Well that's not exactly true
He pitched against 6 different team (out of the 9 other teams in the SL), seeing just two of them multiple times. I think the problem is that he didn’t look very good in a few of those games because of his inconsistent control (good sometimes, bad others), which led to less than stellar reviews from a few managers/scouts. Since that might be the only time they saw him, it probably left them thinking he wasn’t that great.
Didn't go 7 in the last one either, though I don't really see the relevance of that
Despite going 7, I could see West Tennessee (4 BB to 4 K), Montgomery (3 BB to 3 K), Mobile (4 BB to 6 K), and possibly even Jacksonville (6 K to 2 BB is nice, but 7 H and 3 ER) not being terribly impressed. His 2 best starts also came against the 2 worst teams in the league (based on the 2nd half), which I could see some guys holding against him.
you think anybody cares that much about game-to-game performance?
Least of all the guys that Baseball America talks to. If he was throwing mid-90s, I don’t think anybody’s going to go apeshit over his BB/K unless he’s beyond terrible otherwise . . .and seeing as he had a 1.41 ERA, he was, um, quite good.
We're talking about guys who possibly only saw him those specific days
If his control looked terrible the one time they saw him, yeah they probably held it against him. Its more the amount of walks that I was pointing out than the strikeouts. And for someone that supposedly touches triple digits with movement and at least one solid off-speed pitch, the strikeout numbers and ranks by scouts and managers don’t seem to make a whole lot of sense.
Just so you understand what I was getting at
Read the BA quote above a couple managers brushing him off. You think those managers happened to be the ones he was pitching against in the games I named above?
maybe
Or they could have been the managers who didn’t actually see him. Seeing IS believing, for managers as much as the casual fan.
Which is why I pointed out only 3 managers of 10 didn't see him
I also get the sense that brushing him off is different than saying “I didn’t see him.” To me that implies they saw him but didn’t think he was deserving of a spot in the top 20.
That's how I read it as well.
Especially when coupled with the somewhat low ranking and less than glowing writeup in the MWL Top 20.
http://bullpenbanter.com
I don't know, I'm suspicious
Something’s not really adding up right here.
I think its a combination of a few things
He loses control at times, I doubt the velocity is consistent, and just based on the numbers I’m guessing his arm speed gives away the offspeed stuff. Its hard to see any other reason for a guy with his velocity and supposedly usable offspeed stuff not striking out 7 an inning. I think there’s a reason the numbers and rankings aren’t jiving with the optimistic stuff we’ve heard. Definitely a real interesting guy still.
I saw him in the SL
He impressed me quite a bit, hitting triple digits on the gun the one time I saw him.
wow
what else did you see? any offspeed? i heard he has a plus change up….
hes very small isnt he?
Amaury Rivas
is interesting. One would hope that the Brewers can get at least one MoR starter out of him, Peralta and Scarpetta.
by blackoutyears on Oct 8, 2010 12:54 PM EDT up reply actions
Missing
Mark Rogers and Lorenzo Cain. Both made MLB later in the year. Cain looked a bit raw at the plate and still held his own. Rogers didn’t throw enough strikes, but looked awfully promising all the same.
Where's Cody Johnson?
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
"The WAR folks like yunel apparently. i know this, bobby cox hated going to war with this guy." - Jon Heyman
Beyond the Box Score / Capitol Avenue Club / shwitter: @CapitolAvenue
by PWHjort on Oct 7, 2010 4:16 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
WOWWWWWWWWWWWWW
I’m a bit shocked no one’s commented on this yet, but in the SL chat, someone asks whether the BA writer would prefer Harper or Stanton. The writer answers that it’s close.
Makes sense to me. Both possibly 80 power tool RFs with good athleticism and questions on contact ceilings. Stanton probably has the edge on pure power between the two while already having obliterated AA and made to the majors with some success. Harper’s a bit more athletic with probably a bit better pure hit tool, so you can dream more on him, flipside being he’s shown jack squat in pro ball so far and is thereby a higher bust chance. Very defensible decision either way.
Eh I don't know
I’m not ready to say Harper has more athleticism or a better hit tools. His only clear edge to me is arm strength.
http://bullpenbanter.com/
Well, that’s why I hedged a bit with ‘probably’ qualifiers; scouting reports lean slightly towards Bryce in those compartments comparatively to me, and I’m more conservative than the average on Stanton’s hit tool, but obviously that’s entirely open to interpretation and completely speculative until we actually see Harper in real pro ball with better footage to work off of as he matures. Still, to be honest, would probably take Stanton myself were I a GM, simply for being a now major leaguer vs. instructional leaguer.
Stanton...
…is probably in the upper echelon amongst big leaguers in terms of athleticism. He was a 3-sport star at a well known LA-area high school and was good enough to have the opportunity to play football at USC. From what I’ve seen and read, he’s got better speed than Harper, despite being 2-3 inches taller. Now, if what you mean by athleticism is “baseball athleticism”, as in positional versatility, I’ll agree on that. Harper has more positional versatility, a better arm and is more advanced at the same age. Stanton started out “raw”, but his progression has been rapid. If Harper was going to play C or 3B, then I’d really have to think about taking him over Stanton, but as it stands, both are going to be RF’ers, which makes me lean Stanton.
"I hate the people that love me, and they hate me!"
Yeah, I was thinking the more all-encompassing “baseball athleticism”, factoring things like natural coordination as pertains to various defensive skills, arm, etc., than athleticism via just track and field measures. I haven’t seen the same indications that Stanton has clearly better speed than Harper, but at the same time, Harper is just 17 and given maturation, wouldn’t surprise me either in the big picture (though speed obviously isn’t a primary element of either’s game regardless). Will be easier to say more once we get a look at him in real action next year with another year of growth, but as is I don’t in general argue your conclusion for the moment.
?
Not sure I see the big deal. I would definitely take Stanton, but I can see why someone would take Harper.
http://bullpenbanter.com/
Withrow
There was a comment above saying his stuff is down and that is true.
In April he was hitting 96-99 at his peak
In June, he was hitting 94 regularly
In August, according to this BA report, he was only hitting 93.
Tired arm; and obviously BA agrees. Withrow will hit mid to upper 90s again when 2011 season rolls around and with his plus curveball, it’s a make a break year for him.
thanks for that info
however, I think the curveball is a “has the potential to be plus” but his inablitiy to get it to break so it still hits the zone keeps it from a plus rating right now.
And i agree, 2011 is huge…
by lakersdodgersyankees4life on Oct 9, 2010 12:34 AM EDT up reply actions

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