I know it is early in his career, but Romero has been very good in 2009. His minor league numbers don’t scream out at you and he was generally labelled as a bust by everyone. I figured he would be mediocre in AAA this year, get a call-up next year, maybe pull a Chacin and dissappear. But not only has Romero excelled before my expectations, he has been far beyond what I thought he could be.

He has established himself in the pros as a speedster with a good eye, good defense, and ten homer pop… At the beginning of last year it appeared that he would be a bench player, so he definitely is exceeding my expectations.

Granted it’s only been for a season and a half, but I really never expected Pablo Sandoval to hit, hit with power, and display the plate discipline that he has.

Bourn-yes, he’s struggled of late, but he’s actually been a fairly productive leadoff hitter for the Astros. I always thought he’d beno better than Willy Taveras, or a lesser Juan Pierre. His first half production was decent enough to make me think he could go a little beyond Willy….

Escobar-I always felt that he was an overhyped player, at least he’s better than I expected..

I thought he would be good a 4th outfielder and a decent stopgap starter for half a season, but I didn’t see him becoming a very good everyday player.

I was spot on with Tim Lincecum and Pablo Sandoval though. As crazy as this sounds, I expected Lincecum to do as good as he’s done, and have a career ERA in the 2.00’s

His rookie year I didn’t expect to be so bad though, a 4.00 ERA

loopy swing, one breakout season, wasn’t going to be an ML SS. That was only a year ago.

I didn’t think of him much, but I never would have expected Brett Gardner to be this good.

I thought Ryan Braun would be outed for his aggressiveness. Good hitters can improve their walk rates over time.

I didn’t think Shin-Soo Choo would be capable of these numbers. Don’t ask me why.

i had both those guys pegged two offseasons ago, so i’m gonna take this opportunity to pat myself on the back. i’ve actually written about romero a few times if you want to look it up.

as for guys i’ve been wrong about, clayton kershaw probably ranks near the top. he had a lot of hype, but there was something about him i just didn’t care for. he’s got some work to do before he hits #1 on the list. james mcdonald, too. i knew i was wrong about him as soon as i saw him pitch out of the bullpen last october; he’s gonna be a good one.

jeremy hellickson is another guy i never particularly cared for, but he hasn;t proven me wrong yet.

didn’t really think very highly of him at all and he’s now a solid 3 over in Tampa

I don’t even think I need to explain. Did anyone see a 2.83 or 3.27 FIP as a possibility? I sure as hell didn’t.

I went after Kendrick because I didn’t think Kinsler had as much upside.

Adam Jones: I never thought he’d become a .290-.300 hitter with his poor BB to K numbers in the minors. I thought he might be a Juan Encarnacion at best but he’s turning out to be a good hitter. Very similar to Markakis but without 80+ BBs a year.

I thought he would be similar to Mark Grudzielanek with the bat. Solid batting average, but pedestrian-to-subpar in all other offensive production.

Jayson Werth. I remember looking at him back in Frederick and he was this wisp of a thing, 6-5 and 190 soaking wet. He was gonna be a slugging catcher, but I never saw it. A decade later and hes on pace for 35 HRs. (I was right for a long time though)

Loved the numbers, and thought he’d probably be good when he actually made it on to the field, but when the Phils first brought him up my thought was that it was only a matter of time until he suffered an injury that would keep him out for half a season or more, and I figured the injuries would just keep going. But it seems that he just needed to grow into his body, as he’s been pretty durable as a major leaguer, despite only 36 starts and 201 innings in the minors.

Lesson? Really impressive talent won’t necessarily be overwhelmed by injuries, no matter how persistent those injuries may be.

The positional concerns still linger — and may yet steal years of production - but he’s carried over his Triple-A numbers, in part time play no less, and looks like a legit.290-.300 guy with very good power. The BA interview with him a month or so ago showed him to be thoughtful and intelligent guy (homer plug: he is a Wolverine after all) and I tend to trust a breakout more when the player can articulate the changes he’s made. Hunter Pence impressed me in the same manner when he was a prospect, and he’s made a couple of lists here. Very professional approaches to hitting.

Didn’t see that coming.

Man, hes at the top of my list completely. Hes pitching to a 3.50 ERA and aweome GB ratios. Hes exceeded my expectations by far. As a matter of fact, he is pitching as well in the majors as he had in the minors, and you can credit that to him adding a curve ball. I hope he keeps it up!

Another surprise is Nolan Reimold who blew up the moment he stepped onto the Big League field. His power transferred from the minors directly to the majors.

Han Ram, yes I agree with you guys too. I wasnt into the prospects then like I am now, but when looking abck at his numbers, nothing really stoof out that would make you think, “future #1 player in MLB” and that is being said thinking that Albert Pujols plays baseball in Japan, but you get the point, Han Ram blew up and exceeded every expectation.

Jesus Montero, MiLB guy who BA has rated #3 in MLB, is he really THAT good? Maybe, Im not buying it, but regardless, I labeled him 3rd tier, so hes gotta be quite a bit better than I always gave him credit for….

I wasn’t necessarily wrong about Luis, but I probably didn’t think he’d become as good as he did. I did draft him in the 7th round of my Pursue the Pennant league way back in the late 80s, when he was a rookie.

But, I’m sure many never thought he’d account to much.

It’s still early on Lind, and to be fair, I’ve always liked the bat but certainly didn’t see this coming this early in his career. What he’s doing now looked like a peak year to me. He’s been unbelievable in the first half.

Danks - the K rate was always there, but his career path has been odd. He’s proven to be a front of the rotation guy.

In no way did I expect him to be an everyday starting catcher in the bigs…much less the super impressive one he became. With Mauer in the league he doesn’t get a lot of attention, but he’s just flat-out solid. A lot like the early days of his A’s predecessor, Terry Steinbach, but with a much better bat at this stage of his career.

So this might sound too easy, but this sticks in my head because I remember back in 2000, I had been getting into minor league scouting and was reading some of the player reports from various sources. The name Pujols stuck in my head as being funny and also reminding me of Luis Pujols. All the sources agreed that he’d start 2001 in AA with probably a taste of the bigs in a September call up, and just about all the sources questioned his defensive ability, his weight, and his age.

The fact that nine years later, he’s already being considered for the title of greatest right-handed hitter of all time and even greatest 1Bman of all time tells me he was a lot better than expected…

Just started doing good, journey man that has caught on as backup in CHiTown

meant been…oh well, that’s what happens when you type while sick with flu.

Sure he’s no Ace, but he’s turned into a fairly strong number 3, or two, no?