SB Nation - Colorado Rockies

Fantasy Baseball: Early NL Closer Watch

raygu — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 20:00:20 -0000

by Bill Kostroun - AP

3 months ago: New York Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez follows through on a pitch during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2009, at Citi Field in New York. Rodriguez got the save as the Mets defeated the Cubs 4-2. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

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To follow up on Ian's nice writeup on the AL closer picture, I will do the same for the NL. I have always been one to not spend too much on closers in auction leagues, or to draft them early in straight drafts. The closer job is highly volatile and continues to be this offseason.

Here is a rundown of the current closers in the National League compared to who the closer was on opening day 2009:

Team	Apr. 2009	Dec. 2009
New York	Rodriguez	Rodriguez
Philadelphia	Lidge	Lidge
Florida	Lidstrom	Nunez
Atlanta	Gonzalez	Wagner
Washington	Hanrahan	Capps

Chicago	Gregg	Marmol
Milwaukee	Hoffman	Hoffman
Houston	Valverde	Lyon/Lidstrom
St. Louis	Motte	Franklin
Pittsburgh	Capps	Dotel??
Cincinnatti	Cordero	Cordero

Arizona	Qualls	Qualls
Los Angeles	Broxton	Broxton
Colorado	Corpas	Street
San Diego	Bell	Bell
San Francisco	Wilson	Wilson

I have italicized a few of the closers since we do not know who the closer will be or, in the case of Octavio Dotel and Matt Capps, they have been rumored to be signing with the Pirates and Nationals respectively. Of the list above, there are only a few guys I would want to spend money on: Brian Wilson, Jonathon Broxton, Heath Bell and Billy Wagner. Most of the other closers have either lost the closers job elsewhere, in the case of Huston Street, Carlos Marmol, Brandon Lyon, and Brad Lidge, or are coming off an injury (Qualls).

I also am not confident in drafting or spending money on the Mets Francisco Rodriguez. He may have had his worst year as a closer in 2009. K-Rod is fast losing the reason for his nickname....strikeouts. He had his worst strikeout total-73, K/9 -9.66, BB/9-5.03 and HR/9-0.93 since 2003. His K/9 and K/BB have been steadily dropping since 2004. He blew 7 save opportunities in 2009 to go with his 35 saves. I would not be at all shocked that he is injured, or gets injured in 2010.

Poll

Are you comfortable drafting Francisco Rodriguez in 2010?

Wednesday Rockpile: Off season progress report, Rockies 2010 playoff chances improve as the team does nothing

Rox Girl — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:10:17 -0000

So let's take a look back at how the NL ended the 2009 season:

NL West Standings

	W	L	PCT	GB	STRK
Los Angeles	95	67	.586	0	Lost 3
Colorado	92	70	.567	3	Lost 2
San Francisco	88	74	.543	7	Won 1
San Diego	75	87	.462	20	Lost 1
Arizona	70	92	.432	25	Won 1

(updated 12.23.2009 at 10:02 AM EST)

NL Central Standings

	W	L	PCT	GB	STRK
St. Louis	91	71	.561	0	Lost 6
Chicago	83	78	.515	7.5	Lost 1
Milwaukee	80	82	.493	11	Won 3
Cincinnati	78	84	.481	13	Won 2
Houston	74	88	.456	17	Lost 3
Pittsburgh	62	99	.385	28.5	Lost 2

(updated 12.23.2009 at 10:03 AM EST)

NL East Standings

	W	L	PCT	GB	STRK
Philadelphia	93	69	.574	0	Lost 1
Florida	87	75	.537	6	Lost 1
Atlanta	86	76	.530	7	Lost 6
New York	70	92	.432	23	Won 3
Washington	59	103	.364	34	Won 7

(updated 12.23.2009 at 10:03 AM EST)

So that's your basic straight up standings, if you want to go into more advanced detail (and you probably should) about how these teams stacked up on talent and skill without the luck you can look at Beyond the Boxscore or Baseball Prospectus or something, but straight W's and L's will serve as a solid start for where I'm going with this today.

So let's separate the teams into some talent groups, this time going by what we know of the teams' personnel at the end of last season rather than the standings:

Contender A Class (90+ wins)

Philadelphia
Los Angeles

Contender B Class (86-90 wins)

St. Louis
Colorado
Atlanta
Chicago

.500-ish teams (81-85 wins)

Arizona
San Francisco
Florida
Milwaukee
New York

I realize that the D-backs and Mets didn't finish anywhere close to .500 in 2009 and that the Giants and Marlins finished ahead of a couple of the teams in the group I have above them, but this is where taking out the luck, good or bad, comes in. In the cases of Florida and San Fran, they seemed to benefit from a large positive dose of divine favor in 2009 even as Arizona and New York were seemingly cursed from the get-go. Feel free to quibble with this placement in the comments, but the main point is that these are the 11 teams that appear to have a legitimate shot at making a playoff run in 2010.

So far in the off season, we've seen Los Angeles give up Randy Wolf, Orlando Hudson and Juan Pierre and drop into that second group with the Rockies and Cardinals, while the Phillies have grabbed a couple of minor upgrades with Roy Halladay over Cliff Lee and Placido Polanco over Pedro Feliz and given themselves a little separation from the rest of the league. Right now, it does not appear as if the Dodgers will be able to gain nearly enough of those cast-off wins back to get back to the Phillies level.

In the second group, the Cardinals and Rockies are both taking risks in replacing free agent starters leaving after career seasons, the Cards with Brad Penny in place of Joel Pineiro, the Rockies with the return of Jeff Francis in place of Jason Marquis. Insurance policies for both teams seem to be primarily a cache of young near-ready pitching talent. Both teams have similar bench depth issues to work out as well, the Cardinals need to replace Mark DeRosa and Rick Ankiel, the Rockies, Yorvit Torrealba and Garrett Atkins.

The good news for the Rockies in relation to the Cardinals (should they have to compete with each other for the wild card next season) is that 1) Dan O'Dowd got rid of this "Holliday distraction" the Cardinals are going through which is keeping them from making other moves a couple of years ago, and 2) while both teams can probably expect some regression in their starting rotation performance in 2010, it's usually a safe bet to expect a smaller step back from the team with the younger players, in this case, Colorado.

The Cubs are hoping that losing Milton Bradley is addition by subtraction, but the team's core seems to be declining as a group fairly rapidly, and actually looking at their ages, with their best hitting talent between the ages of 32-34 next season, I really suspect that they might be dropping into that .500 group without a major rebuild that doesn't involve Carlos Silva. The Braves, meanwhile, looked like they might have a decent team heading into 2010, but their replacement of Rafael Soriano and Mike Gonzalez with Takashi Saito and Billy Wagner is a downgrade for next year, as is yesterday's deal of Javier Vazquez to the Yankees. Signing Troy Glaus would be useful, but I still think the overall impact of Atlanta's moves is to add a lot more downside risk to the team in 2010 without a substantial upside improvement.

Of the .500-ish teams, so far, most haven't made any moves that really put them into the next category. The Mets appear to be likely adding Jason Bay, which would be a decent start at that. Arizona got a little better for next year or two in acquiring Edwin Jackson and Ian Kennedy for Max Scherzer and Daniel Schlereth, but they still seem to be in a 82-85 win range which I think basically just catches them up to the Giants, who have as of yet done nothing. Florida gets a little better by aging a year, but not good enough, and their bullpen has been weakened. San Francisco is putting a lot of eggs into the Madison Bumgarner basket, either he or a second tier free agent like Jon Garland will have to replace the production that Randy Johnson and Brad Penny provided last season. That's a lot to ask given that the rest of their rotation, much like the Rockies, probably isn't going to be quite as good as it was in 2009.

Milwaukee's moves, such trading for Carlos Gomez and signing Wolf and LaTroy Hawkins have been mostly beneath the radar, but I really like what they've done so far. I still think they need more, but at least they're systematically going after the team's weaknesses on a budget without taking the kind of gambles that Atlanta is, or St. Louis did with the Penny acquisition.

So summarizing, the Rockies, who are gaining ground just by maturing into a peak phase, thus far have caught up with the Dodgers, and probably passed them talent-wise, just by sitting on their hands. Arizona's moved up a little and are within range of passing us if things fall their way in 2010, as are the Giants, but to put it in perspective, the gap between the Rockies and both those teams talent wise is probably still larger than it is between the Rockies and the Phillies the other direction.

As for the second playoff option, so far the news has been mostly positive as well, as none of the primary competitors outside the NL West with the possible exception of the Brewers have added enough talent to either make up for the players they've lost, or to otherwise catch up with Colorado. The last couple of seasons the Rockies have had similarly quiet winters, as Dan O'Dowd seems to prefer to wait until mid-season to add salary via trade if the team's in contention rather than going all in for the top free agents. Thus far this off season, I haven't seen any NL team besides the Phillies make moves that should push the Rockies to pursue a less budget conscious course.

Fantasy Baseball: UBA Keeper League Trades

raygu — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 14:00:22 -0000

by David Zalubowski - AP

3 months ago: Cincinnati Reds shortstop Paul Janish, front, fields the throw as Colorado Rockies' Eric Young, Jr., steals second base in the third inning of the Rockies' 5-1 victory in a baseball game in Denver on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2009. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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I have mentioned in several of my posts recently that I have traded for some minor league prospects in my "Big" NL-only keeper league called the UBA league. I joined this league 3 years ago taking over a team that had finished in 11th place the previous year. I immediately started trading my best keepers in several 2-1 deals to improve my roster.

My first year in the UBA league was strange because, I decided in mid-late May to bail on the season and started trading my most productive players for cheap keepers and minor league prospects. But, as the season went along, I slowly crept up in the league standings to the point that I decided to change course and go for it. As it turned out, I finished 3rd that year and in the money.

In fact, I have finished in 3rd place in each of my 3 years in the UBA league, but last year's finish hurt the most. I traded some of my better minor league prospects (Andrew McCutchen and Jason Heyward to name a few) and Matt Kemp during the season to only finish in 3rd. Not what I expected when I made the deals obviously.

So this offseason, I have again decided to gut my team of my best keepers to rebuild, as I did in my first year in the league. Here is a summary of the deals I have made this offseason:

more after the jump:

Traded $10 S1 Casey McGehee for $5 S2 Yonder Alonso

Traded $1 S1 Wandy Rodriguez for $10 S1 Brandon Allen, $5 S2 Domonic Brown and the #7 pick in the minor league draft

Traded $23 S1 Andre Ethier for $5 S2 Michael Stanton, $5 S2 Jose Tabata and $5 S2 Andrew Lambo

Traded $22 S1 Huston Street for $10 S1 Eric Young and the #13 pick in the minor league draft

Brandon Allen and Young have a shot at making a fantasy impact in 2010. Allen, as it stands right now, should be the starting first baseman for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2010, but he didn't help himself in the Arizona Fall League where he hit .177 and struck out 33 times. He also struck out alot in his cup of coffee with the DBacks in August and September. Young, on the other hand, could end up in AAA to start the 2010 season as Rockies manager Jim Tracey loves him some Clint Barmes. Not sure why. Maybe it's the .220 batting average, but he is a good fielding second baseman. I think Young could play enough in 2010 to steal 20+ bases. Hopefully they aren't in AAA. Should he land a starting job out of spring training, he could steal 35+ bases.

I also targeted prospects who I think should make a fantasy impact in 2011, with a couple who could make their big-league debut in 2010. There is a good possibility that Jose Tabata will be given a chance to play everyday come June 2010. The Marlins Michael Stanton could also see some time in Florida this season, especially if he can improve upon his AA performance in 2009. In 299 ABs at AA Jacksonville, Stanton went 16-53-.231-.311-.455-.766.

In Domonic Brown and Andrew Lambo, I received two outfielders who could be starting in 2011. Brown could be ready to take over for free agent outfielder Jayson Werth, should the Phillies let Werth leave via free agency. Lambo had a disappointing season in AA Chattanooga as his power numbers dropped. But Dodgers director of scouting Logan White and director of player development DeJon Watson both feel Lambo can ave a break out power season in 2010. Time will tell.

As a result of these moves, I am left with alot of question marks in my keeper list, but I will have about $185 to spend at the draft, so the draft will be real interesting since it is full of power hitters like Albert Pujols, Ryan Howard, Adrian Gonzalez, and Mark Reynolds (my worst non-raise decision ever) among others.

Poll

How did I do in my offseason deals?

Mariners may target Bengie Molina?

Eli Greenspan — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 00:33:02 -0000

More photos » by Morry Gash - AP

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The Mariners are now turning their attention towards finding a veteran catcher to run their new and improved starting rotation.

Yorvit Torrealba and Bengie Molina are among possible targets, and sources believe the Mariners aren't looking for anything beyond two years.

The Mets are in talks with Bengie Molina, but they are still far apart on negotiations.

Rosenthal reports that the market is in a holding pattern until Molina signs.

"Once Bengie signs," one person in the industry said Saturday, "the catching market is going to go quick."

The Mets, Mariners, Giants, Astros, and Rockies, among others, are keeping tabs on the open catching market.

Saturday Rockpile: Contreras narrowing his choices while the Rockies try to maintain bullpen depth.

theoldgrizzlybear — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 14:54:34 -0000

La Esquina: The numbers show that Jose Contreras might be a valuable closer. - ESPN
Jose Contreras won't be pitching in Japan, but is starting to narrow down his options on where to pitch next season. Contreras still wants to start, but according to his agent he may be willing to pitch out of the 'pen. I'm hoping the Rockies find themselves in the mix for "The Bronze Titan," as he would be of great value to any team's bullpen - especially if he's still able to continue throwing in the upper 90's.

Rincon returning to Rockies | MLB.com: News
The Rox re-signed ~~Satan~~ ~~Josh Fogg~~ Juan Rincon to a minor league deal yesterday. Yippee.

Sources: Jamey Carroll has agreed to terms with the Los Angeles Dodgers on a two-year deal - ESPN
The former Rocktober hero has agreed to terms with the enemy - at two years and just under $4MM.

Rob Neyer: Selecting the top 100 players of the decade - ESPN
I didn't see anybody post this during the week, but I could have overlooked it (if so, my apologies). Anyway, ESPN.com's Rob Neyer has Todd Helton as the 8th-best player of the decade. I'm surprised the Toddfather was placed this high, but he put up some pretty gaudy numbers in pretty much every year of the 00's (with the exception of 2008), particularly in the OBP department.

MLB -- Baseball Prospectus: Hanley Ramirez, Justin Upton, Joe Mauer and Tim Lincecum project as brightest MLB stars of 2010 through 2019 - ESPN
In a related piece, Troy Tulowitzki falls under the "Honorable Mention" section for players who will shape the next decade in Major League Baseball. I may be a homer, but I think it's a crime that Tulo doesn't fall in the Top 20 on this list. It may be an even bigger crime that Clayton Kershaw doesn't, either.

LVBP.com - Liga Venezolana de Beisbol Profesional
The statistics page for the Venezuelan Winter League. Players of note:

Carlos Gonzalez is hitting .289/.325/.526 in 114 at-bats with 7 home runs and 21 RBI's.
Yorvit Torrealba is hitting .314/.419/.471 in 51 at-bats.
Jhoulys Chacin went 1-2 with a 4.73 ERA, allowing 39 hits in 32.1 innings. He struck out 24 and walked 12.
Edgmer Escalona has posted a 2.70 ERA in 6.2 innings, striking out 7 and walking 5
Franklin Morales has walked six batters in four innings of relief.

Oh, and there should be no stock put into any of the above stats, whatsoever.

Washington Nationals: Will Matt Capps Follow Pudge?

Ed Chigliak — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 21:01:09 -0000

More photos » by Tom Mihalek - AP

Former Pirates' closer Matt Capps has a decision to make, and he might just follow Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez to DC if you believe the rumors. (AP Photo/Tom Mihalek)

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Citing MLB.com's Bill Ladson's Twitter message from Thursday about the Nationals being finalists for free agent reliever Matt Capps, Eli Greenspan of the SB Nation's MLB Daily Dish wrote this morning, in an article entitled, "Nationals, Cubs, Rockies finalists for Capps", that the field for the free agent reliever had been narrowed down to just the three teams in the title, while noting that the Nationals offer Capps the clearest path to the closer job he covets, while in Colorado and Chicago, "...he would have to compete for the closer role and would likely end up being (either) team's set up man."

As soon as the news that Pittsburgh had non-tendered the 26-year-old right-hander broke last Saturday, Capps' agent Paul Kinzer made it known that his client had interest in joining the Cubs, and Chicago Breaking Sports.com writer Paul Sullivan reported in an article entitled, "Cubs show interest in released closer Capps", that a mutual interest existed between the two parties, though he noted that the, "...Cubs aren't looking for a closer," since they already have Carlos Marmol,"...but Capps could fill a void in late-inning relief, joining Angel Guzman as a right-handed set-up man."

Denver Post reporter Patrick Saunders spoke directly to Colorado Rockies' GM Dan O'Dowd for an article last Tuesday entitled, "Time running out for Torrealba, Rox like Capps", wherein Mr. Saunders quoted the Rockies' GM stating that Colorado was "absolutely interested" in acquiring Capps who'd be reunited with former Pirates and current Rockies' Manager Jim Tracy. But in Denver too, he'd be competing for the closer's role with Huston Street, with whom, "...the Rockies have been pursuing a long-term deal," according to Mr. Saunders, but since there are,"...no guarantees it will get done. That could make Capps a valuable addition."

Capps himself told MLB.com's Bill Ladson yesterday in an article entitled, "Nationals a finalist to acquire Capps", that he was interested in what was going on in Washington, citing the two-year deal the Nationals gave future HOF catcher Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez, which Capps believes, "...shows the direction the Nationals are trying to go,":

"'They signed him to a two-year deal - it's just not a fill-in. It shows that they are investing in the future. They want to do what's right, and they want to win.'"

When asked by Mr. Ladson, (who believes Capps would be competing with Brian Bruney for the closer's role in DC), (ed. note - "What, no Storen?"), if he would accept a late-inning relief role if he was to sign with Washington, Capps' response was pretty much what you'd expect:

"'If it's better suited for me to set up for the team in the seventh inning or eighth inning, that's what I'll do,' Capps said. 'If they sign me and tell me they want me to play shortstop, I'll play shortstop. I want to win. I want to be in an environment [where winning is important]. All signs are looking good with what they are trying to do so far.'"

I think he's kidding about playing shortstop...though that could solve two problems...But it's interesting that the only team Capps mentioned in the news yesterday was the Nationals...Was Capps letting the other teams know that they'd have to step up their offers if they wanted to keep him from signing with Washington? Or is the fifth-year pro impressed enough with what Nationals' GM Mike Rizzo is building that he's seriously considering a move to DC?

LATE UPDATE:

FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal sent out a Twitter message while I wrote this which read:

"Angels looking for relievers as well as starters. Matt Capps high on their list."

So the Cubs, Rockies, Nationals and Angels...Does DC stand a chance?

• Bill James Pitcher Projections:

(RHP) Matt Capps --

2009 Projections: 41 G, 47.0 IP, (3-2), 3.20 ERA, 29 Saves, 6 BB (1.1 BB/9), 36 K's (6.8 K/9), 5 HR's (0.96 HR/9).

2009 Stats: 57 G, 54.1 IP, (4-8), 5.80 ERA (4.90 FIP), 27 Saves, 17 BB (2.82 BB/9), 46 K's, (7.62 K/9), 10 HR's, (1.66 HR/9).

2010 Projections: 55 G, 57.0 IP, (3-3), 3.47 ERA (3.80 FIP), 30 Saves, 11 BB, (1.74 BB/9), 45 K's (7.11 K/9), 7 HR's, (1.11 HR/9).

Nationals, Cubs, Rockies finalists for Matt Capps

Eli Greenspan — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 01:03:40 -0000

More photos » by Gene J. Puskar - AP

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Free agent closer Matt Capps is close to making a decision on his next team.

MLB.com's Bill Ladson is reporting that the Nationals are a finalist for his services, and it is believed the Cubs and Rockies are still very much involved in the race.

Capps made his interest known to the Cubs when he was released, but he would have to compete for the closer role and would likely end up being the teams set up man. The Rockies are in the same situation.

Capps would be the teams closer in D.C., which would be a good addition with Brian Bruney after a disappointing 2009 for the Nats' bullpen.

Fantasy Baseball: Raygu's MDC Mock Draft Results

raygu — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 20:00:28 -0000

by Mark J. Terrill - AP

about 1 month ago: FILE - In this Oct. 8, 2009, file photo, St. Louis Cardinals' Albert Pujols hits a single during the sixth inning of Game 2 of the National League division baseball series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, in Los Angeles. Pujols was unanimously voted National League MVP on Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009, becoming the baseball first player to repeat since Barry Bonds won four in a row from 2001-04. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)

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I participated, I use that term loosely, in a 12 Team Mixed League mock draft over at Mock Draft Central on Monday night. I missed alot of my picks because I was busy following the Roy Halladay trade rumors. But I made sure I made my fist three picks, as I was picking from the first position.

Here is how the first two rounds went:

R1 P1 Albert Pujols

R1 P2 Hanley Ramirez

R1 P3 Chase Utley

R1 P4 Alex Rodriguez

R1 P5 Ryan Braun

R1 P6 Mark Teixeira

R1 P7 Tim Lincecum

R1 P8 Matt Kemp

R1 P9 Prince Fielder

R1 P10 Miguel Cabrera

R1 P11 Evan Longoria

R1 P12 David Wright

The second round is after the jump:

R2 P1 Ian Kinsler

R2 P2 Justin Morneau

R2 P3 Ryan Howard

R2 P4 Joe Mauer

R2 P5 Carl Crawford

R2 P6 Grady Sizemore

R2 P7 Jacoby Ellsbury

R2 P8 Mark Reynolds

R2 P9 Jason Bay

R2 P10 Troy Tulowitzki

R2 P11 Zack Greinke

R2 P12 Justin Upton

With the first pick in round 3 I selected Matt Holliday.

I was surprised Upton and Holliday were still available that late in round 2.

Poll

What is more shcoking about Raygu's mock draft?

Down on the Farm: More Snippets from Baseball America's Top 10 Lists

raygu — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:00:24 -0000

Baseball America recently completed their Top 10 prospects lists for all National League teams, so to complete the Snippets series, here are some from the NL West lists.

Brandon Allen, 1B, ARI

Strengths: A star linebacker in high school, Allen has huge raw power. For a big guy, he has some snap in his bat and doesn't have a long swing. He toned down his swing and hit more balls to the opposite field in 2009, allowing him to hit a career-high .298 in the minors. He does a good job of punishing mistakes. He has worked hard to improve his defense.

More after the jump:

Ryan Wheeler, 1B, ARI

Strengths: Potentially the best offensive player in the system, Wheeler has a rhythmic, balanced swing. He has a feel for recognizing pitches and controls the strike zone well. He drives the ball from gap to gap and earns high marks for his plate coverage, particularly in his ability to drive the ball the other way. His offensive package reminds scouts of Joey Votto. An average defender at first base, Wheeler has solid hands and arm strength for the position.

Chris Withrow, SP, LAD

The Future: Withrow fared well in his late-season promotion to Double-A and will begin 2010 there. Despite his lack of experience, he's on track to reach the major leagues by the second half of 2011 and looks like a potential top-of-the-rotation starter.

Donovan Tate, OF, SD

The Future: The Padres envision Tate developing into a power/speed center fielder who combines the best attributes of Mike Cameron and Andruw Jones. A solid showing in spring training should earn him an assignment to low Class A Fort Wayne, and from there the speed at which his bat develops will dictate his pace.

Tyler Matzek, SP, COL

Strengths: Scouts thought he was the best high school lefthander to come out of Southern California since Cole Hamels in 2002, and Matzek has better stuff. He has a legitimate four-pitch arsenal, starting with a fastball that sat at 90-94 mph for most of the spring before jumping to the upper 90s right before the draft. His curveball and slider are two distinct breaking pitches and both have the potential to become plus offerings. He also shows feel for a changeup, though he didn't need the pitch very often as an amateur.

Thomas Neal, OF, SFG

Strengths: Neal became a more complete hitter in 2009. He seldom strays from his plan at the plate and takes aggressive swings on mistakes. He has the bat speed to turn on quality fastballs and shows extra-base power from pole to pole. His arm strength has returned and he racked up 15 assists from left field last season.

Down on the Farm: Project Prospects Top 25 NL West Prospects

raygu — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 14:00:32 -0000

by Ross D. Franklin - AP

3 months ago: Arizona Diamondbacks' Brandon Allen connects on an RBI double against the San Francisco Giants in the second inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2009, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

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Adam Foster from Project Prospect posted his Top 25 NL West prospects yesterday over at Project Prospect.

Here's a glimpse at the top 5:

1. Buster Posey

2. Madison Bumgarner

3. James Darnell

4. Jaff Decker

5. Jhoulys Chacin

Here is what Adam has to say about a guy I recently traded for in the UBA league:

Brandon Allen

From solid AA bat to PCL HR machine to MLB K-king -- 40 Ks over 116 MLB PA

It remains to be seen if Allen will stick with the Diamondbacks out of spring training. Even though he didn't hit for a high average in the AFL, he did lead the league in walks with 22.