Welcome back.  I posted a top 50 list exactly three weeks ago today, with plans to eventually balloon it even further.  That list led to a ton of good discussion and argument, and it truly and honestly helped me refine the list as it grew bigger.  This is that refined, bigger list.  Is it better?  I don't know.  So, read on, and give me your opinions.  A list such as this was and is incredibly ambitious, and I am honestly very pleased with the results.  It will lead to a lot of disagreement, likely even more so than with my first list.

You'll notice that the format of the list is now very different.  I've split it up into the following groups: #1-10, #11-20, #21-30, #31-50, #51-75, and #76-101.  At the start of each section is one blurb that details any significant changes from the last list, and a second blurb that highlights one significant player battle within the range that gave me some trouble/controversy.  Meanwhile, each of the top 30 prospects here now have write-ups, in addition to sporadic reports on the final 71 players.  A few of the write-ups are carried over from the last list, but most (think: about 90%) have been just now changed or added. 

So, have at it.  This list was a lot of fun for me to create, and I hope it's a lot of fun for you to read and critique. 

Here goes nothing...

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I don't like to do prospect rankings.  They receive too many nitpicks, too much scrutiny.  That being said, I got bored the other night, and began to work on a top 10 prospect list for my own personal use.  That top 10 ballooned to 20, which then ballooned 30, and so on.  I finalized the list at 50.  Again- this is intended for my own personal use (I'm in a few franchise fantasy leagues), but I figured I would share it with you to get some feedback.

Anyway, feedback is exactly what I'm looking for.  This took a lot of time, and I really would appreciate any help I can get to improve it.

Thanks, and enjoy.  :-)

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I wrote last week about a little-known RP prospect, Jonathan Ortiz, and decided to write up a similar post today.  I hope that the analysis that follows this can provide some insight and discussion on the 2 prospects I highlight- neither of them have received much of it in the past.  If you're expecting Evan Longoria-meets-Francisco Liriano, stop reading...  These prospects are not studs, but just promising players who could one day be pretty good.  Cubs SP prospect Hung-Wen Chen is the first, and probably the most important, player that I'm featuring here.  The second is Freddy Galvis, a young SS that the Phillies signed out of Venezuela back in 2006.

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I have been following Yankee minor leaguer Jonathan Ortiz for some time now, and have seen literally no other opinions or coverage of him.  I have not (and do not) know what to make of the guy, so I'll give a little information about him here and see what you all can add.

Jonathan Ortiz is old for his level.  He's 22, in low A ball, and the Yankees have (somewhat inexplicably) been slow in moving him up.  He signed out of the Dominican in 2003, and was used as both a SP and a RP (with ridiculous success) in three seasons with the Yankees' DSL team (2004-2006).  Ortiz made his stateside debut in 2007, and since then, has gotten as high as A+ Tampa, working exclusively as a reliever.

So, since at this point, people might be saying, "So what?", I think that it's time to note his stats.  Though I don't have data for the Yankees' 2004 and 2005 DSL seasons, all of Ortiz's other seasons are noted below.

We have here a reliever with Lincecum-esque K-rates, Alderson-esque control, and Webb-esque HR tendencies.  On top of that, his BABIP was actually high this year, at .344.  On top of that, he has a history of starting (7 GS in 2006), though it's extremely unlikely he returns to it.  Given the market that Ortiz's organization is in, media outlets everywhere should be praising this guy as the best future closer prospect this side of Tony Sipp.  They aren't; why?

Jonathan Ortiz is not a top prospect, or anything close to it.  I am not advocating for him to be treated as such.  But, I'd love to know exactly what it is the Yankees have here.  The stats scream stud, the lack of attention paid to him does not.  Are there any followers of the kid out there who can shine some light on the situation?

I have Colin Balester in a franchise league, and have just been offered Corey Brown for him, after a bunch of nagging about Brown.

Now, I like Balester, and think he deserves a little more credit for doing what he's done as a 20/21 year old.

That being said, my system is relatively pitching heavy, and Brown is showing a lot of potential.  For starters, BA ranked him pretty highly in their Top 200 draft rankings, even before his outburst in Oakland's system.

Now, Project Prospect (whose rankings are flawed, and generally favor draftees) has Brown 4th in the A's system.  Both PP and Senor Sickels have Balester far outside Washington's Top 5.

For context, the team with Brown has also offered a package of Cyle Hankerd, Young-Il Jung, and Kyle Winters for Balester.  No other significant offers exist, though interest does from several teams.

What do you all think?