Community Prospect #42
by gatling on Jan 30, 2026 9:34 PM EST
155 comments
With 20.2% of the vote, Tyler Flowers is elected Community Prospect #41.
1. Jason Heyward - 51%
2. Stephen Strasburg - 76%
3. Buster Posey - 20% (43% runoff)
4. Michael Stanton - 20% (54% runoff)
5. Jesus Montero - 20% (45% runoff)
6. Brian Matusz - 21%
7. Pedro Alvarez - 23%
8. Desmond Jennings - 29%
9. Carlos Santana -37% (50% runoff)
10. Neftali Feliz -37% (50% runoff)
11. Justin Smoak - 46%
12. Domonic Brown - 23% (59% runoff)
13. Madison Bumgarner - 30%
14. Martin Perez - 28%
15. Dustin Ackley - 31%
16. Chris Carter - 33.6%
17. Jeremy Hellickson - 29.4%
18. Michael Taylor - 36.9%
19. Alcides Escobar - 37.0%
20. Christian Friedrich - 29.0%(53.2% runoff)
21. Logan Morrison - 45.6%
22. Ryan Westmoreland - 24.7%
23. Aroldis Chapman - 32.0%
24. Wade Davis - 40.8%
25. Fernando Martinez - 30.5%
26. Aaron Hicks - 33.3%
27. Kyle Drabek - 34.0%
28. Lonnie Chisenhall - 24.5%
29. Jenrry Mejia - 18.8%(51.6% runoff)
30. Yonder Alonso - 25.5%
31. Matt Moore - 19.0%(70.7% runoff)
32. Brett Wallace - 24.3%
33. Dan Hudson - 20.2%
34. Freddie Freeman - 17.4%
35. Jhoulys Chacin - 21.2%
36. Casey Kelly - 27.8%
37. Casey Crosby - 29.8%
38. Starlin Castro - 27.5%
39. Brett Lawrie - 18.4% (42.9% runoff)
40. Derek Norris - 17.3% (42.9% runoff)
Players will get 1 round on the poll as a tester, if they fail to draw 5% they will then be removed and sit out up to 3 rounds.
Players off the poll(will sit out up to 3 rounds): Simon Castro(#41-3.2%), Matt Dominguez(#41-0%), Michael Saunders(#41-2.1%), Zach Britton(#39-0%), Todd Frazier(#39-1.0%), Grant Green(#39-0%), Jarrod Parker(#38-2.0%), Jiovanni Mier(#38-0%), Donovan Tate(#38-2.9%), Jake Arrieta(#38-2.9%), Tanner Scheppers(#38-0%)
Tester pool: Ryan Kalish, Josh Reddick, Zach Stewart, Ike Davis, Arodys Vizcaino, Julio Teheran, Wil Myers, Josh Vitters, Jaff Decker, Mike Moustakas, Miguel Sano, Aaron Crow, James Darnell
The candidates with previous round vote %:
Tyler Matzek 16.0%
Josh Vitters
Ryan Kalish
Jacob Turner 17.0%
Chris Withrow 5.3%
Julio Teheran
Josh Bell 6.4%
Jordan Lyles 7.4%
Jason Castro
Hector Rondon 7.4%
Michael Montgomery 8.5%
Over 130 AB/50 IP cutoff for eligibility
Please vote using the +1 system, not the rec system. Rec'd votes will not be counted in this poll, only actual posts with +1.
1 recs |
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Vote with a +1 here for Tyler Matzek
RIP Nick Adenhart
by gatling on Jan 30, 2026 9:36 PM EST reply actions 5 recs
+1
http://twitter.com/FutureSox
by The Big Hurt on Jan 30, 2026 11:15 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
+1
What you fail to understand in your joyless myopia is that baseball is the key to life-- the Rosetta Stone, if you will. If you just understood baseball better all your other questions your, your... the, uh... the aliens, the conspiracies they would all, in their way be answered by the baseball gods.
by winchester5 on Jan 31, 2026 4:20 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
+1
"mark kotsay for $1.5 million. or jim thome for $1.5 million.
gosh. i’m going to have to think about this one for a bit." larry
"We're gonna do this f*ucking thing over again cuz I just f*cked it up.....oh, we're live, I didn't know that" Bert Blyleven
by smoooooth on Jan 31, 2026 6:13 PM EST via mobile up reply actions 0 recs
Vote with a +1 here for Josh Vitters
RIP Nick Adenhart
by gatling on Jan 30, 2026 9:37 PM EST reply actions 5 recs
+1
best bat currently on the ballot; not a huge fan of Turner or Matzek yet, but I could be convinced about Montgomery/Lyles here
by PrincetonCubs on Jan 31, 2026 12:29 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I couldn't disagree more
I’d take everyone on the poll over Vitters, and all but probably two of the guys in the tester pool/cycled off group too.
RIP Nick Adenhart
by gatling on Jan 31, 2026 12:43 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
there are guys on the tester pool and off ballot
who I’d probably take over Vitters (Crow, Davis, Decker, Jackson, etc) but I would take him over Bell (future platooner) and Kalish for sure, and probably Castro—you’d really take Kalish over Vitters?!
And I’m not huge on any of the pitchers on the ballot either, but like I said, I’m open to being convinced
by PrincetonCubs on Jan 31, 2026 10:14 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Yeah
I’d take quite a few guys over Vitters, I hate his approach and the refusal to adjust it and draw some walks. It’s not an approach that lends itself to a lot of success. To me his ceiling is Howie Kendrick with a bit more power, but I’m not sure he’ll be that successful. He projects to stick at 3B, but only as an average defender or so. Kalish looks to me like a future 20/20 guy capable of putting up a line of .275/.360/.450 with above average defense in CF. I think he gets overlooked a bit, either due to the injuries or some anti-Red Sox bias(not a Sox fan at all, either).
RIP Nick Adenhart
by gatling on Jan 31, 2026 11:59 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
fair enough
I think the Vitters quote on approach is a bit overstated, he’s apparently very coachable. And his plate coverage is, as has been stated before, out of sight, and his K rates are great.
Kalish looks kinda average to me, groundball hitter, average arm strength/accuracy, good game speed but average raw speed. I think 20/20 is very optimistic, but ymmv. He’s solid, but Vitters has way more upside.
by PrincetonCubs on Jan 31, 2026 12:17 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Vote with a +1 here for Ryan Kalish
RIP Nick Adenhart
by gatling on Jan 30, 2026 9:37 PM EST reply actions 5 recs
Vote with a +1 here for Jacob Turner
RIP Nick Adenhart
by gatling on Jan 30, 2026 9:37 PM EST reply actions 5 recs
+1
Someday I’ll get to vote for someone else.
Freude, schoener Goetterfunken,
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische dein Heiligtum.
by t ball on Jan 30, 2026 9:41 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
+1
this guys turn
5 MORE YEARS OF FELIX!
by Marinerfanjake on Jan 30, 2026 9:43 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
+1
President, Vice President and Secretary of the Casey Crosby Fanclub.
by demondeaconsbaseball on Jan 30, 2026 10:14 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
+1
Close call between Turner and Montgomery here, with Bell, Gordon Matzek close behind.
by guru4u on Jan 31, 2026 9:19 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
+1
The 2008 Rogelio Moret League Fantasy Baseball Champions!
by The Congo Hammer on Jan 31, 2026 5:03 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
+1
Since I started the revolution, I think I’ve voted for him 20 times.
Follow me at http://twitter.com/JDSussman
Remember: baseball guys... baseball...
by JDSussman on Jan 31, 2026 6:32 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Vote with a +1 here for Chris Withrow
RIP Nick Adenhart
by gatling on Jan 30, 2026 9:38 PM EST reply actions 5 recs
Vote with a +1 here for Julio Teheran
RIP Nick Adenhart
by gatling on Jan 30, 2026 9:38 PM EST reply actions 5 recs
+1
"Ninety percent I'll spend on good times, women and Irish Whiskey. The other ten percent I'll probably waste."
by strums on Jan 30, 2026 11:02 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
+1
Elite upside, good results so far for such a young pitcher.
by blindsided789 on Jan 31, 2026 9:45 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
+1
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting different results.
by biggentleben on Jan 31, 2026 2:33 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Vote with a +1 here for Josh Bell
RIP Nick Adenhart
by gatling on Jan 30, 2026 9:38 PM EST reply actions 5 recs
+1
of the people remaining on the poll, though I maintain Saunders is a better prospect.
by slamcactus on Jan 30, 2026 9:53 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
+1
www.oriolesprospects.com | twitter @orioleprospects
by ravensfan3 on Jan 30, 2026 10:05 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Vote with a +1 here for Jordan Lyles
RIP Nick Adenhart
by gatling on Jan 30, 2026 9:38 PM EST reply actions 5 recs
Vote with a +1 here for Jason Castro
RIP Nick Adenhart
by gatling on Jan 30, 2026 9:38 PM EST reply actions 5 recs
+1
this community went pretty far out on a limb taking flowers over castro. generally speaking that is ok, but in this case…ugh.
by auclairkeithbc on Jan 30, 2026 9:59 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
+1
Solid defensive catcher with a bat that projects to be above average? Yeah, I will take that.
by dougdirt on Jan 31, 2026 1:23 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Vote with a +1 here for Hector Rondon
RIP Nick Adenhart
by gatling on Jan 30, 2026 9:39 PM EST reply actions 5 recs
Vote with a +1 here for Michael Montgomery
RIP Nick Adenhart
by gatling on Jan 30, 2026 9:39 PM EST reply actions 5 recs
+1
I like the upside of the high schoolers, but Montgomery’s not far behind (if at all) and has some very good minor league data to go with it.
by PissedMick on Jan 31, 2026 10:42 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
+1
"I generally avoid temptation unless I can't resist it" ~ Mae West
by Blicks on Jan 31, 2026 11:32 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
+1
I’m tempted to vote for someone like Jason Castro, but I’m just not sure I see him here personally. At the end, came down to the young arms. Matzek and Turner may have higher ceilings, but as of this vote, I’m not sure I’m ready to vote them ahead of guys like Montgomery/Withrow. I think both Mike and Chris’ ceilings are at the very least, close to Tyler and Jacob, and I think they are a couple notches safer. I may change my mind on Withrow, but for now, I’m leaning Montgomery here.
by toonsterwu on Jan 31, 2026 2:41 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
+1
I refuse to set up a signature....DAMMIT
by RoyalPug on Jan 31, 2026 2:43 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Vote with a +1 and name here for anyone not listed
RIP Nick Adenhart
by gatling on Jan 30, 2026 9:39 PM EST reply actions 5 recs
+1
Grant Green
In a perfect world... spammers would get caught, go to jail, and share a cell with many men who have enlarged their penisses, taken Viagra and are looking for a new relationship.
by Zonis on Jan 30, 2026 9:44 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
+1
Jack "The Must, Just has no Rust, ain't no Bust, after him the ladies Lust, turns pitchers into Dust, likes his pizza with no Crust" Cust
by FrankCohen on Jan 30, 2026 10:48 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
+1
Travis Wood. He had a record breaking year and was AA and Southern League pitcher of the year.
"This has got to hurt"
by Da.aron on Jan 30, 2026 10:13 PM EST via mobile up reply actions 0 recs
Stop
You’re name has 2k9 in it — what are you some 8 year-old who makes Pillsbury Doughboy cookies and jerks off to that bullshit video game with Tim Lincecum on the cover--
Frederick0220
by Mets2k9 on Jan 30, 2026 10:49 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Great season
Not a top 50 prospect in baseball though.
He has good stuff, but its not elite stuff. He has an injury history, though no surgeries. He is a small lefty with good stuff, but there are a lot of better options available at this point.
by dougdirt on Jan 31, 2026 1:25 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
tester: some of us upside whores would like to see jared mitchell soon
by larry on Jan 30, 2026 10:15 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Really?
I’m not saying he may not deserve it, but Mitchell got the 32nd most money in the draft, so far there have only been two 2009 draftees that have made the list.
He also struckout 28.8% of the time in Low A as a college draftee while having a .139 ISO, granted a small sample size of 139 PA, but still.
by bigboy1234 on Jan 30, 2026 10:42 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Bonus
That really means nothing. That has more to do with leverage than actual talent (although there certainly is some correlation). I wouldn’t vote for him yet, but Mitchell has ridiculous upside.
by jar75 on Jan 30, 2026 10:47 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
i will appeal to authority.
john manuel and will lingo of baseball america have him ranked #39 and #28 on their respective lists. i’m not saying i’d vote for him yet either (because i wouldn’t) but it appears people who do this for a living think he’s deserving of it so perhaps there are some in this community who agree.
by larry on Jan 30, 2026 10:51 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Wow
I don’t buy the BA book (I just have a subscription) so I didn’t realize he was quite that high on their lists.
by jar75 on Jan 30, 2026 10:54 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
and since those are two of the primary crafters of their top 100 list,
you can probably expect a generous ranking there once it’s released.
by larry on Jan 30, 2026 10:55 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Really? WHEW!
I have him top 35 and I thought it was a pretty bold call.
Plus: His upside is similar to Westmoreland and Hicks
Minus: Unlike Westmoreland and Hicks, he’s a college player and very raw for one.
Plus: His rawness is largely a result of playing football in college, too - AS KG noted, he is one of only two players to win both a BCS football title and a College World Series
Minus: He still turns 21 in 2010 and is pretty raw
Plus: 21 isn’t really that old
Plus: He was absolutely dominant in the College World Series, winning the Most Outstanding Player award. Looked ridiculous.
Im a big Mitchell fan.
by alskor on Jan 30, 2026 11:27 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
i guess you'll have to bump him up fifteen spots or so.
that way you’ll still be different. those guys have stolen your shock value.
by larry on Jan 30, 2026 11:30 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
all of those pluses are essentially the same thing
He’s toolsy and has upside. He played football because he’s toolsy. He is 21 years old and raw, but it’s okay because he’s toolsy. And he looked ridiculous in the CWS because he was on the field with players that largely are not qualified to be organizational filler minor league players.
I realize that scouting reports should be given much more weight than statistics for a player with his small amount of professional experience, but he had an extremely high strikeout rate and his overall line was propped up by an absurdly high BABIP.
I think the risk of flameout with Mitchell is much higher than people generally acknowledge just because he’s a college draftee and college guys generally are generally considered “safe”, and because he happened to be picked near the back of the first round instead of the early part of the sandwich round or 2nd round. I think that Mitchell will need quite a bit of development, and is no guarantee to be a big league regular. I don’t see why he should be considered a better prospect than other toolsy OFers 2 or 3 years younger than him that are putting up superior numbers in lower leagues that don’t have his contact issues, such as Eury Perez, Destin Hood, Mike Trout, etc. Given normal development curves, they will likely be putting up superior low-A numbers in the next 1-2 years than Mitchell had last year, while still offering significant tools-based upside.
by jibs on Jan 31, 2026 12:04 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
“And he looked ridiculous in the CWS because he was on the field with players that largely are not qualified to be organizational filler minor league players.”
I disagree with this; those CWS teams have quite a bit of talent on them. Just from Texas/LSU alone we have the following potential first rounders:
Jared Mitchell
Anthony Ranaudo
Mikie Mahtook
Micah Gibbs
Brandon Workman
Tyler Jungmann
Also deserving to be mentioned, but aren’t quite as good:
Cameron Rupp
Brandon Loy
Leon Landry
DJ LeMahieu
Kevin Keyes
Austin Dicharry
Sam Stafford
Chad Jones (he’ll be going to the NFL instead)
And those that are decent MLB prospects:
Ryan Schimpf
Cole Green
Chance Ruffin
Matty Ott
Brandon Belt
Blake Dean
As far as his stats, you’re not exactly working with a large sample there. The K% isn’t great by any means, but he also walked at 16.5% clip. This isn’t the same as the Destin Hood’s of the world.
by jar75 on Jan 31, 2026 12:30 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
He's a future LF with ZERO power.
Once again, the “athleticism” label does not apply.
Brett Anderson is the Truth. Brett Anderson is divine presence. Brett Anderson is eternal life. Brett Anderson is within you. Brett Anderson is here. Brett Anderson is Now.
by Frederick0220 on Jan 31, 2026 2:24 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Left fielder with zero power, center fielder with decent and projectable power
what’s the difference anymore?
by Daniel Berlyn on Jan 31, 2026 2:48 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
His power would barely even play up at CF.
He’ll prob be a 10-12 home run guy eventually.
Brett Anderson is the Truth. Brett Anderson is divine presence. Brett Anderson is eternal life. Brett Anderson is within you. Brett Anderson is here. Brett Anderson is Now.
by Frederick0220 on Jan 31, 2026 3:06 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I actually see alot of power there
and he’s incredibly fast and is definitely going to stick in CF. That doesnt concern me at all.
by alskor on Jan 31, 2026 1:45 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Mitchell actually has lots of power. he just didn't show it in his debut (SSS). That's really not that uncommon.
He’s an elite-level athlete with plus-plus speed and plenty of raw power.
http://baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=9776
I really think the debut power shortage was part SSS, part long season for him and part adjustment to wood bats.
by alskor on Jan 31, 2026 1:43 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I was judging his power more heavily based on his swing, rather than his stint in low-A ball.
Brett Anderson is the Truth. Brett Anderson is divine presence. Brett Anderson is eternal life. Brett Anderson is within you. Brett Anderson is here. Brett Anderson is Now.
by Frederick0220 on Jan 31, 2026 2:35 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
His swing will require a bit of work
but there’s plenty of gap power, especially with his speed which turns doubles into triples, and he has the frame to get pretty stout in the future, even if it slows him down some. But remember, this guy has never really focused on baseball 100%, where most of these guys have been for several years if not their whole lives.
by Daniel Berlyn on Jan 31, 2026 2:38 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Good point.
Brett Anderson is the Truth. Brett Anderson is divine presence. Brett Anderson is eternal life. Brett Anderson is within you. Brett Anderson is here. Brett Anderson is Now.
by Frederick0220 on Jan 31, 2026 2:42 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
And yet, the SAL league list
The list based on input from observes in the SAL had him 8th in that league. That’s not bad, and maybe means he should be in the mix soon, but so far we’ve only got the top 4 from that league already on (Perez, Kelly, Moore, Norris).
Basically, at this time a year ago, they had him as the 31st best college prospect heading into the 2009 draft. By draft time, he had climbed to where he signed for slot at 23rd overall. He had a strong debut, but still ranked behind 7 other guys in his league. On the other hand, BA obvioulsy likes him a lot, and ranked him ahead of both Flowers and Hudson in the White Sox system, both of whom are already on the list. He maybe is in the mix with the other raw toolsy CF types, but with less power potential than Hicks or Westmoreland, he’s more a leadoff type.
Interesting, looking at the league lists, we’ve got 3 on from the other full season low A league, the Midwest League (Hicks, Lawrie, Crosby). But only 1 from the short season low A leagues (Westmoreland from the NYPL, and none from the NWL). Of the high A leagues, we’ve got 7 from the FSL list, 6 from the Carolina League list, but only two from the California League.
by acerimusdux on Jan 30, 2026 11:32 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
i don't want to piss on anyone's opinion too much.
but minor league managers aren’t who i go to for assessing talent.
by larry on Jan 30, 2026 11:36 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Fair enough...
Frankly, I do think some of the league lists are screwy at times.
But, I’d still take the minor league managers over John Manuel or Will Lingo.
by acerimusdux on Jan 30, 2026 11:52 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
you'd take savannah's manager? hickory's? lakewood's?
managers who never saw mitchell play and i’d bet may not even know who he is?
by larry on Jan 31, 2026 10:33 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
sure
Come on 10 teams did actually play against him. Jason Knapp only faced 9 teams in that league and still finished ahead of him.
by acerimusdux on Jan 31, 2026 1:28 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
"tyler flowers is the best defensive catcher in the southern league"
forgive me if i chuckle at the scouting skills of managers.
http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/prospects/best-tools/2009/268703.html
by larry on Jan 31, 2026 1:42 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Just saying Manuel and Lingo are worse
Besides, he might well be the best guy who caught more than 50 games. It’s a 10 team league, and some teams go through a lot of catchers, with none really getting enough time to qualify. There’s probably only a handful of candidates, and the competition end up being guys like Wellington Castillo and Jonathan Lucroy.
by acerimusdux on Jan 31, 2026 4:54 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
if the competition is lucroy.
then it’s not a competition.
by larry on Jan 31, 2026 5:24 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
If Mitchell is a tester
I believe Brett Jackson should be as well. Heck, I have Jackson ahead of Vitters for my own personal rankings.
by toonsterwu on Jan 30, 2026 11:07 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
too bad you can't make a similar appeal to authority.
remember, if they’re not ranked that on someone else’s list, they can’t be ranked that here.
by larry on Jan 30, 2026 11:16 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
um what?
is that the rule we’re going by … i hope that’s sarcasm that i can’t detect early in the morning.
anyhow, ba was gushing over jackson. a couple of the ba guys said he’d be in the middle of the top 100, which is around here. law didn’t put him in his top 100 … because he’s not ready to make that move without a bigger sample size, but acknowledges that jackson was tremendous and better than expected, and that if he plays this way next year, he’d make a major leap up the boards. goldstein was talking about how the scouts gushed over jackson. basically, we’ve got ba guys ranking both of them in the middle of the top 100 (I believe it was Badler and Callis … fairly certain on Callis).
Let’s compare Mitchell and Jackson based off what’s out there and what we know -
Power - Jackson.
contact/Discipline - Similar issues. Can’t see leaning one way or another. You could make an argument that Mitchell might walk a bit more. I’d counter that there were very positive reports on Jackson’s ability to play situational ball with the bat and his awareness of the strike zone. IF you want to lean Mitchell, fine.
Defensive - Jackson is projected to be a solid to good CF. I’m almost certain Jackson’s arm is thought to be better as well.
Time will be the final answer, and I like Mitchell a whole lot, but I don’t think suggesting Jackson should be discussed if Mitchell is being discussed is all that crazy.
by toonsterwu on Jan 31, 2026 7:47 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
oh, nvm on the arm
i don’t know why i thought mithcell had an average arm when i typed that. dunno who i was thinking about on the arm thing. wheeler?
i’d also add that ba said brett jackson would’ve ranked no lower than 3rd on the MWL had he qualified. if you don’t recall the mwl list, it went
1. Aaron Hicks
2. Dee Gordon
3. Josh Vitters
4. Brett Lawrie
5. Mike Montgomery and so forth
by toonsterwu on Jan 31, 2026 7:55 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Power - Currently, Jackson definitely has the edge, but Mitchell has a good bit of raw power as well.
Discipline - I prefer Mitchell. I think he’ll walk a lot more, but both have a lot of swing and miss in their game
Defense - This is a bit more interesting. Mitchell is really fast and should be able to cover plenty of ground in CF, but Jackson’s arm will definitely be better. I think this is more of a push
I do agree with you though that they deserve to be mentioned alongside each other. I’ll probably have Mitchell about 5 spots ahead of Jackson, but they’re both really good prospects. I have Jackson significantly ahead of Vitters.
by jar75 on Jan 31, 2026 12:17 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
wait
now i’m getting myself all confused on the arm strength part. i’m under the impression that mitchell has enough arm strength for rf. i remember seeing that somewhere. if so, that should be better than jackson.
what’s mitchell’s power ceiling supposed to be? i’m under the impression that the expectations of a best case scenario would be say, 15-20 hr’s, and i’ve seen some suggest 20-25 hr’s for jackson.
is mitchell going to stick in cf? i haven’t heard much on that. it seems like lot of people have him pegged for a corner role. i know the reports on his “instincts” and reactions for cf weren’t great, but has experience helped?
on jackson and contact/discipline - the reports actually aren’t bad on his strike zone awareness. iirc, ba’s reports from scouts said something along the lines that, he wasn’t chasing many pitches. furthermore, most indications so far have been that he is not only willing, but capable, of playing situational ball, which to me that there is enough hope that experience will improve. granted, i don’t ever expect a low K rate, but i really expect that to balance out a bit with time.
only time will tell.
by toonsterwu on Jan 31, 2026 12:36 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
mitchell's only below average tool is his arm.
reports were fine on his ability in CF so he should be able to stay there though the constant carl crawford comps appear to make people want to say he’ll end up in LF.
by larry on Jan 31, 2026 12:40 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
gotcha
i like mitchell, although i’m not real sure what he is. i don’t think he’s a leadoff hitter, and i don’t think he’s a middle of the order bat. best case scenario seems to be a good 2-hole hitter, but i worry if he can be consistent enogh up there.
time will tell, but i do like him. i just think brett jackson deserves to be discussed i the same breath (and honestly, i do believe brett jackson is a better value at this stage, by most accounts, he should be a good cf, with a chance to be a plus defender. he doesn’t have a below average tool, with his only potentially average tool being his arm, but some have that as above average).
by toonsterwu on Jan 31, 2026 1:34 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Jackson definitely has a superior arm and that’s one of the main reasons some see Mitchell as a future LFer. He didn’t play CF in college, but LSU is loaded with toolsy outfielders. He definitely has the speed to play there. The instincts, like the rest of his game, is still pretty raw and needs work, but that’s something I’d expect to improve with game experience.
I’m really not sure what his power ceiling is, but he supposedly has “plenty of raw power.”
Well, I give Mitchell the edge because his college walk numbers were much better than Jackson’s and there just isn’t enough pro data to use that instead. Jackson’s debut was better in that area though (than at Cal) so it definitely looks like he’s making progress with the walks.
by jar75 on Jan 31, 2026 1:20 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
as a side note
i always thought brett jackson’s junior year numbers were overstated. a bit troublesome, sure, but i always thought the k issue was overstated, and hence why i was pleased that the cubs picked him (i wanted upside in the cubs system with the first pick, and not some high floor guy like pollock that was oft-debated). IIRC (too lazy to check right now), brett’s sophomore year discipline numbers were fine. he hammered northwoods league, and his discipline was good in the cape i think (though he wasn’t that successful … still he came out of the cape viewed as a top 10 prospect that played there that year). the difference between the soph and junior year was finding a power stroke, and some players need adjustment time when they finally find/develop that power stroke. i don’t think he’s ever going to be, say, a 15% K rate type, but I think he can find a good balance between aggressiveness/instincts and discipline, at least, moreso than, say, Tyler Colvin.
by toonsterwu on Jan 31, 2026 1:42 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Walk rate
That’s what concerned me about Jackson’s college numbers. He walked 65 times in 481 college ABs and didn’t seem to show much improvement from season to season.
Mitchell’s walk rate during his freshman and sophomore season were pretty terrible, but he managed to accumulate 57 during his junior season.
I am pleased with the patience that Jackson showed during his brief pro debut though and I’m higher on him than I was going into the draft for that reason alone.
by jar75 on Jan 31, 2026 1:53 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I nearly added both Jackson and Mitchell to the tester pool for this round
I have them both ahead of Vitters on my list, but then Vitters is very low on my list too. Anyway, I’ll get them both in the pool next time around. I’ve been trying to go back and check the previous couple of polls to see names I’ve missed for testers, at the same time trying to see if more than one person has been suggesting a guy or if it’s one guy repeating the same name each time.
RIP Nick Adenhart
by gatling on Jan 30, 2026 11:27 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
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