I'm putting this thread up because the last one on Friday generated almost no feedback, and I want to make sure before we actually do the poll that everybody has a pretty good idea of what's going on with the system right now. We don't need to wait for BA to come out with their's to make this (although we'll probably do another one around then anyway) as there are a lot of references still available to use.
Here's John Sickels, top 20 for instance.
Here's my own rough list of prospects by position from the comments of the last thread, and I'll try and put a little blip about each of them as well. My hope is that you can correct/question me if something seems off. I've done some tinkering this week, so it will be a little different.
Starters:
- Franklin Morales - Easily the best pitcher in the system.
- Ubaldo Jimenez - I'm still seeing a strong #2 in the cards for U-ball's ceiling.
- Greg Reynolds - Lower ceiling, but a much higher floor than a lot of these guys.
- Juan Morillo - this announced move to the bullpen may be temporary pending other moves/injuries so I'll keep him on this list for now. It's too bad he hasn't really taken to secondary pitches.
- Oscar Rivera - I'm still not sure if I want him this high. Reason's to keep him up here: He dominated an advanced hitting friendly league at a young age. Reasons to drop him: He's a finesse lefty, without much power to his pitches. It remains to be seen if his wizardry will be as effective against MLB bats or if he's just a AAAA equivalent.
- Chaz Roe - He's still very raw and will be overlooked a little because his stats were messed up by McCormick Park. I'm expecting a big season at Modesto from Chaz.
- Josh Sullivan - Better stuff but not nearly as polished as Rivera, better control than Deduno.
- Denny Bautista - ineligible for the poll.
- Samuel Deduno - I really don't know if he's going to live up to his potential
- Ching-Lung Lo- I think Lo could be a breakout sleeper next season given his adaptation in the latter half of 2006. Early on he was winning by luck, but he went from a 47/31 K/BB ratio in 82 1/3 innings the first three months, to a 81/23 K/BB ratio in 72 1/3 IP the last two months.
- Brandon Hynick - Solid, unexpected performance in Casper, Hynick could be the surprise find of our 2006 draft.
- Aneury Rodriguez - he wasn't as dominating in a pitcher friendly environment as I was hoping he'd be. He's still young and immensely talented though. Could shoot up this list next year if a few ahead of him falter.
- Brandon Durden -
- Xavier Cedeno - Cedeno and Durden are going to be quietly rising power lefties. I won't expect them to get a lot of attention until they're taking care of business in AA in 2008.
- Lindsay - have I dropped him too low? I think I have to keep him here until he shows he's back and strong in 2008.
- Alan Johnson - could just turn out to be a solid minor league filler, but he's had some very good results thus far.
- Keith Weiser - somewhat of a mediocre start to his pro career last summer, he's still very intriguing.
- Yull Silano- Probably the best stuff of the underperformers at Casper.
- Jhoulys Chacin- He'll probably start in Casper in 2007, but he's our most promising pitcher from the DSL last season.
- Ricardo Ferrer- Chacin and Ferrer haven't pitched stateside yet, and Ferrer might not pitch in the states until 2008, but I like the profiles I've read better than the 2006 Casper trio that comes at the bottom of my list here.
- Craig Baker- Was held out of his debut due to arm surgery, he's got some solid stuff though and could be a sleeper for a big 2007. Don't forget about him.
- Ryan Mattheus - more filler than killer
- Marc Kaiser - more filler, probably
- Robinson Fabian - raw
- Ronny Lopez - raw
- Esmil Rogers - raw. I'm hoping one of these three jumps out next year, but they all had a pretty rough go in Casper in 2006.
As far as relievers:
- Darren Clarke
- Andrew Johnston
- Pedro Strop
- Josh Newman
- Jim Miller
- Simon Ferrer
- Adam Bright
- Will Harris
Position Players
Catchers:
- Iannetta
- Colina
- Neil Wilson - only turns 23 on Thursday, might have benefitted from an abnormally high BABIP in 2006.
- McKenry - struggled in his pro debut in a tough hitter's park, but I like his potential
- Brian Aguailar
- Austin Rauch- only this low because I doubt he'll be able to stick behind the plate, otherwise #2.
- Kyle Blumenthal
- Jhaysson Agustin - Another name I'm going to hate spelling.
- Tulowitzki
- Herrera
- Gomez - very talented, vary raw, expect big things next season.
- Young- 2006's fastest riser in the system, he could be the best second base prospect in baseball right now depending on your feelings about Atlanta's DeWitt. Hawaii showed he's a lot more professional than DeWitt at the very least.
- Nelson - rough year on the D, but I like his bat still
- Helder Velazquez - Sickels overlooked him, but he could be just as good as some of these names ahead of him.
- Daniel Mayora - probably moving to a corner
- Corey Wimberly - not very good defensively
- Shane Lowe
- Matt Macri
- Jason Van Kooten
- Carlos Martinez
- Jeff Dragicevich -
- Omar Quintanilla
- Jayson Nix
- Everth Cabrera
- Spence Nagy
Corner infielders:
- Ian Stewart
- Joe Koshansky
- Phillip Cuadrado
- Jeff Kindel
- Logan Wiens
- Dustin Hahn
- Christopher Cook
Center field:
- Dexter Fowler
- Jeff Salazar
- Anthony Jackson
- Chris Frey
- Jeff Baker
- Seth Smith
- Joe Gaetti
- Cole Garner
- Matt Miller
- Christian Colonel - also top 5 in the infield corners
- David Christensen -should rise given his age
- Daniel Carte - still intriguing, oddly, despite being a disappointment thus far
- Kevin Clark
- Victor Ferrante - was a pleasant surprise at Tri-City, I hope he can keep it up
- Justin Nelson
- Jay Cox - The anti-Ferrante, was a huge disappointment at Casper.