Over at BB we completed the back 50 of our top 100 prospects on Friday and have started on the top 50 this week.

Link: Bullpen Banter Top 100 Prospects

Each prospect on the top 100 has a profile page with some information, stats, video or photos we've taken and a discussion section with thoughts from our authors. We release 5 prospects a day, 5 days a week for a full month counting down from 100 to 1.

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14 team. PPR. Simple scoring (no >100 yd bonuses, etc...). Pass TD = 4. 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, NO Flex. 

My team is currently

QB: Favre, Kitna

WR: Boldin, Lee Evans, Michael Jenkins, Louis Murphy, Denario Alexander

RB: Chris Johnson, Jahvid Best, Cedric Benson, Javon Ringer, Bernard Scott, Deji Karim, Ken Darby, 

TE: Zach Miller

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via www.realclearsports.com

Here it is.

Full Article: http://bit.ly/cPjx2z

(for those with trouble w/ bit.ly links for whatever reason, here is the full link: http://bullpenbanter.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=231:the-top-20-pitchers-age-25-a-under&catid=18:articles&Itemid=11)

The Top 20 Position Players Age 25 & Under

   1. Stephen Strasburg
   2. Felix Hernandez
   3. David Price
   4. Ricky Romero
   5. Yovani Gallardo
   6. Chad Billingsley
   7. Clayton Kershaw
   8. Clay Buchholz
   9. Mat Latos
  10. Tommy Hanson
  11. Julio Teheran
  12. Phil Hughes
  13. Martin Perez
  14. John Danks
  15. Brett Anderson
  16. Derek Holland
  17. Neftali Feliz
  18. Brian Matusz
  19. Aroldis Chapman
  20. Tyler Matzek

The Rationale

1. Stephen Strasburg - Already dominating with the best stuff of any pitcher in baseball.

2. Felix Hernandez - Its hard to believe he’s only 24 years old. Does everything well, but not quite as well as Stras.

3. David Price - Finally emerging as a FOR starter. Expect the K’s to continue to rise. If you look at raw strikeout numbers you may be more inclined to give an edge to guys like Kershaw, Billingsley & Gallardo over guys like Price, Romero & Buchholz... let me remind you here that the latter three don't get to face #8 hitters and pitchers like the former do.

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via www.sawxblog.com

Here's my list. What's yours?

Full article: http://bit.ly/9v5yYl

The Top 20 Position Players Age 25 & Under

1. Evan Longoria
2. Justin Upton
3. Troy Tulowitzki
4. Ryan Zimmerman
5. Jason Heyward
6. Carlos Santana
7. Carlos Gonzalez
   
8. Buster Posey
9. Colby Rasmus
10. Matt Wieters
11. Domonic Brown
12. Bryce Harper
13. Mike Trout
14. Matt Kemp
15. Jay Bruce
16. Desmond Jennings
17. Gordon Beckham
18. Andrew McCutchen
19. Mike Stanton
20. Delmon Young

 

The Rationale

1. Evan Longoria - An elite bat and historically good defender at an important position. Bill James once wrote that he considered writing a book about the greatest team ever but that he decided it against doing the project. His rationale was that you can't write a book saying the 1927 Murderer's Row Yankees were the GOAT because its been said 1,000 times... but you also can't write a book saying they aren't the GOAT - because they were. Longoria is the '27 Yankees of these kind of lists. I hope to give you something worth reading despite that, though.

2. Justin Upton - All the talent and tools with production to match. He still has room to grow his game and that's kind of frightening. A number of similar players made my list here... in fact, a full 10 of the 20 are NL outfielder. I was disturbed when I looked up and noticed this. Upton is a similar player to a number of these guys... but he's the best of them.

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The Minor League Thread for Wednesday, April 28th, 2010. Some games already in progress.

Notable Starters:

AAA: Jeremy Hellickson, Chris Tillman, Michael Bowden, Aroldis Chapman

AA: Zach Putnam, Casey Kelly, Martin Perez, Anthony Capra, Joe Blanton (rehab), Deolis Guerra, Kyle Weiland, Erik Cordier

A+:T.J. House, Alex Wilson, Cody Scarpetta, J.C. Ramirez, Kyle Allen

A-ball: John Lamb, Kyle Lobstein

Please let me know if anyone else of note is starting. Many of the matchup on milb.com didn't have probables yet.

Hope you guys don't mind me posting this! I'm writing for a baseball website that just launched named Bullpen Banter (www.bullpenbanter.com). We've got some really good content in a nice format and I'm pretty excited about it. Currently, We're releasing team previews daily. This week was the AL and NL East teams. We went in reverse order of finish and today was the Red Sox Preview. I did pick them to finish first - but it wasn't just me! We had some disagreement, too...

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via farm4.static.flickr.com

A NOTE ON MY GRADING: My Grades will not correspond exactly with John's nor are they meant to. I am perfectly willing to favor upside and tools sometimes and I dont need as much data as him. Nor do I value floor quite so highly. I try to focus more on "not lying to myself." What do I mean by this? I mean that when I focus too much on data or what a guy has shown so far over his upside and tools I tend to overvalue floor in ranking them. I always try to ask myself: "If I had to choose one of these guys, right now, would I actually choose Player X over Player Z?" It's an easy trap to fall into with prospects. For instance, I did a list in July or August and I lied to myself. I knew I liked Westmoreland more than Kelly, Kalish and Reddick, yet I listed him behind them anyway. If I were to grade the way John does I feel I would constantly be "lying to myself" and would end up with results that don't match how I actually feel about players.

Im sure someone will click on this fanshot, not read my little explanation here and see the grades and think "what an effing homer! Westmoreland an A-?!?" The fact is there really arent that many prospects I would rather have than Ryan Westmoreland and Aaron Hicks. Theyre Top 20 guys for me. Grading them lower than an A- would lead to inconsistencies when I rank them overall, even though I know they dont look like typical A- guys in John's system. Im in a good place with that and I hope you can look past that when you read this. I would have to have to use a non-letter grade ranking system. Enjoy.

1. OF Ryan Westmoreland A-

2. RHP Casey Kelly B+

3. CF Ryan Kalish B+

4. CF/RF Josh Reddick B+

5. 1B Lars Anderson B

6. RHP Junichi Tazawa B

7. RHP Michael Bowden B-

8. CF Reymond Fuentes B-

9. 1B Anthony Rizzo B-

10. RHP Stolmy Pimental B-

11. SS Jose Iglesias B-

12. CF Che-Hsuan Lin C+

13. SS/2B Derrick Gibson C+

14. LHP Felix Doubront C+

15. RHP Alex Wilson C+

via multimedia.heraldinteractive.com

1. OF Ryan Westmoreland A-: Tools are just off the charts. Extremely high ceiling player with great polish and poise. He flies around the field. His arm is phenomenal. He squares the ball up extremely well and has plus power in a compact, pretty swing. The kind of player that when you see this guy play you can immediately tell he's the best player on the field. If he had struggled in his debut I would have still loved him. The way he impressed with a (SSS) .300/.400/.500 in an advanced league for a high school player from a Northern, cold weather state just sealed the deal. Beyond that, everyone who saw him was wowed by him. High potential to be a special player.

One scout described Westmoreland as having "the tools of a top-five high school pick, with the advanced skills of a college player." Supremely athletic, Westmoreland has average power with projection for more, as well as a keen understanding of the strike zone and a silky smooth swing - Kevin Goldstein

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=9762

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via faninterference.files.wordpress.com

I know we've been seeing a lot of these lately. Thought Id try my hand... but with a twist. Left out the lesser league. I didnt feel like wasting my time predicting who will be losing the 2011-2016 All Star Games!

FYI, Heyward and Stanton would be #1-2 and Bumgarner would be either #4 or #5.

1) 1B Justin Smoak TEX

An advanced hitter who will hit for a very high AVG and good power from both sides of the plate. Sure thing, middle of the order hitter with a good glove at 1B.

2) RHP Neftali Feliz TEX

Special arm. Secondary offerings better than advertised. True Ace potential here.

3) OF Desmond Jennings TB

Great defense? Check. Patient hitter ? Check. Hit for a high AVG? Check. Hit for Power? Check. Speed out the wazoo? Check. What don't people like about this guy...?

4) C Carlos Santana CLE

Middle of the order hitter at a premium position. Really like his bat. VMart v.2.0.

5) RHP Chris Tillman BAL

Potential Ace pitcher. Great stuff and has improved all over this year.

6) 1B Jesus Montero NYY

Phenomenal bat. Would like to see a little more patience from him, but minor quibble.

7) LHP Brian Matusz BAL

Being "plus" across the board but not "plus plus" anywhere really shouldnt be taken as a negative. Pretty sure thing, too, but has a considerably high ceiling.

8) LHP Martin Perez TEX

Exciting young pitcher with everything you want. I want to say I need to see it at higher levels, but he was just promoted... and frankly, if he got lit up it wouldnt change anything for me b/c he's so young. Really, he just needs to keep doing it.

9) RHP Wade Davis TB

Great stuff. Very good young pitcher. Not sure why he sometimes doesnt get the love he deserves. I guess he's never had that one truly dominant year that gets everyone on the bandwagon... but Im sitting here on it.

10) OF Matt LaPorta CLE

Middle of the order bat with plus patience and power.

11) RHP Casey Kelly BOS

Special arm, bright future. Not too shabby as a SS either. I heart athletic pitchers.

12) RHP Hector Rondon CLE

Love this kid. Electric arm and impressive stuff.

13) OF Michael Saunders SEA

Decent defense and the kind of the approach at the plate that I look for. Bit of speed, bit of power. I dont see a real star here, but I sort of expect to look up in 5 years and see him up on the leaderboards in a lot of categories in a sneaky way.

14) OF Josh Reddick BOS

Very underrated. Good defensive CFer. Incredible plate coverage. His approach seemingly improves monthly.

15) 1B Chris Carter OAK

Ive loved Carter for a long time, as you may have noticed. I do have some concerns about him, though... and his lack of defense is troubling... but he's gonna be a major leaguer with plus plus power. Its funny... basically just a matter of time until he's overrated now.

16) 3B Lonnie Chisenhall CLE

I was first on the bandwagon here... but he has more warts than are typically discussed. Id like to see improvement in his K and BB rates... but the kid can certainly hit. Big question was power, but he's shown tons of that.

17) SS Tim Beckham TB

Loved his tools last year and still love them.

18) LHP Matt Moore TB

Great arm in the perfect situation for him. He's the prototypical Rays development pitcher.

19) LHP Casey Crosby DET

Exciting arm that I loved out of high school before the injury. He's good... Im not sure just how good yet... have to see him at higher levels.

20) RHP Jason Knapp CLE

Live arm. Needs to work on secondary stuff and control... but that basically goes for every pitching prospect. Unlike most of them Knapp already has an Ace's fastball.

21) 2B Jemile Weeks OAK

Sort of like if Desmond Jennings were a 2B. Some questions about his glove, and still some about his power... but he looks like he could be a great sparkplug/leadoff guy. The basement on this guy is pretty damn enticing. The ceiling is crazy.

22) SP Michael Ynoa OAK

Brilliant young arm. I only have reports to go on, but the reports all say "historically good." Im skeptical. Not sure what to think, but based on what I know so far Im placing him here to hedge my bets.

23) OF Ryan Westmoreland BOS

As good a set of tools as anyone in the game. Concern was how raw he was, but this scorching hot start has glossed that over. Lots of hurdles still in front of him, but not too many guys have a ceiling like this.

24) SS Reid Brignac TB

Very good defender and pretty good bat. This guy should be starting at SS for somebody already - and if he was, he would likely be one of the better options there in the league.

25) 1B Lars Anderson BOS

Back injury has sapped his power and wiped out his confidence, but Im still a believer. Obviously a downgrade was necessary, though. Still young, and all the things I liked about him before are still there.

via cache.daylife.com

26) RHP Phillippe Aumont SEA

Great stuff.

27) RHP Jake Arrieta BAL

Great fastball, but secondary stuff really concerns me. He'll be a good major league pitcher, but might not live up to his minor league success.

28) RHP Jeremy Hellickson TB

Tim Alderson with better velocity...? I like Hellickson a good deal... but he does have his issues.

29) OF Nick Weglarz CLE

A guy I thought I was high on but keep seeing crazy high on other lists. He's not going to be Adam Dunn. He looks more like oh, say .260/.360/.550 with poor defense to me. That's a damned good hitter... but from a guy who should probably be at 1B that doesnt really excite me. Very good prospect... but not a real top notch prospect.

30) 3B Mike Moustakas KC

I liked him considerably less when we found out he wasnt a middle infielder... but he's a very good 3B prospect. Not the stud everyone expected at one point... but not nearly as bad as some are making him out to be.

31) RHP Junichi Tazawa BOS

Throws strikes, stays ahead in the count and pitches like a vet. His pitches move a ton. His stuff is very good, but not front of the rotation good. He does pitch better than his stuff, though. Fun pitcher to watch.

32) RHP Carlos Carrasco CLE

All the tools... sort of a poor man's Wade Davis as a prospect. Hasnt dominated like he should.

33) SP Michael Bowden BOS

People keep worrying about what he's not instead of what he is. He throws strikes with plus stuff. Gonna be a decent MLB pitcher. Flyball tendencies are the thing that concerns me.

34) OF Tyson Gillies SEA

Exciting lead off type. Rocketing up my list all year.

35) RHP Nick Hagadone CLE

Another live arm, but this one has some decent secondary stuff already. Not sure if he's a reliever, but he's going to be very good either way.

36) RHP Nick Barnese TB

Another great young Rays arm. Still kind of raw despite the good results.

37) RHP Dan Hudson CWS

Like what Im seeing here.

38) OF Ryan Kalish BOS

Boston's third best CF prospect is damn good in his own right. A top 100 prospect 2 years ago, Kalish is still young (21), has a great glove, hits for contact, is extremely patient and has finally hit for power again after that wrist injury.

39) 1B Eric Hosmer KC

Liked his tools last year, still like them. No idea why he was promoted... but I still expect him to hit. Great swing.

40) RHP Danny Duffy KC

Everything you want to see, but without top notch stuff.

41) OF Austin Jackson NYY

No star potential here, but solid hitter and very good defender in CF. Plenty to like here.

42) LHP Mike Montgomery KC

Young lefty who throws hard and keeps the ball on the ground. All of that sounds great.

43) 3B Adrian Cardenas OAK

Doesnt excite me... but pretty good at everything. Gotta maintain the high AVGs - which he hasnt done in AAA...

44) OF Aaron Hicks MIN

Raw, but love his tools. Dont quite understand why people had him so high after his debut.

45) RHP Tim Melville KC

Royals sped up his delivery and its upped his velocity. Another young live arm with great upside, but very raw and lots of questions.

46) RHP Brandon Erbe BAL

Seemingly forgotten among the O's pitching prospects, this guy has some very good stuff and his results have been pretty impressive.

47) OF Ben Revere MIN

Not as high on him as most. Very good contact hitter, but complete lack of power is troubling.

48) Arodys Vizcaino NYY

Love the arm. Lets see what he does at the next level.

49) 3B Dayan Viciedo CWS

Starting to get it.

50) LHP Trevor Reckling LAA

Nice arm, but his velocity keeps him from being a higher rated prospect. I do love athletic pitchers with good mechanics.

via actionallstars.files.wordpress.com

HONORABLE MENTIONS (In no particular order! Some I wanted to write about, others I didnt. Not meant to indicate any kind of order at all.)

RHP Wilmer Font TEX
-Fun arm. Lets see more.

C JP Arencibia TOR
-Never been a huge fan b/c of his lack of patience. Not surprised by his performance this year at all. He'll be an okay major league catcher but I dont know why people thought there was a star here.

RHP Zach McAllister NYY
-Sinkerballer who's been very good. Stuff holds him back, but looks like a good mid-back rotation type

RHP Jordan Walden LAA
-Still love this arm.

RHP Daniel Cortes SEA
-Big dude with good stuff, his control has left him this year but he's still missing tons of bats. Will be off a lot of radars after this year, but there's plenty to like.

3B Alex Liddi SEA
-High Desert mirage? Possibly. I liked him before that though, and I see real progress here.

3B Danny Valencia MIN
-Not a huge fan, but he keeps proving me wrong...

SS Yamaico Navarro BOS
-Great glove, bat is coming along nicely.

1B Anthony Rizzo BOS
-Sleeper... everything you want is there.

RHP Stolmy Pimental BOS
-Live arm, great stuff. Starting to figure it out.

RHP Felix Doubront BOS
-Another young live arm with great stuff who could add velocity

OF Grant Desme OAK
-Looking very good. Need to see more. Big time sleeper.

RHP Juan Ramirez SEA
-Good arm that didnt live up to expectations this season.

LHP Neil Ramirez TEX
-Not having a great season, but I was an admirer going into '09.

RHP Jeremy Bleich NYY
-Solid pitcher, but as was feared he has turned out all too hittable.

LHP TJ House CLE
-Good looking young arm.

LHP Kelvin De La Cruz CLE
-Injured, command a concern.

RHP Michael Main TEX
-Mystery fatigue disease has derailed him, but top notch stuff.

RHP Blake Beavan TEX
-I think he's ultimately a reliever.

OF Engel Beltre TEX
-Not sure what to think. Havent given up, of course. Still love the tools.

OF Wilkin Ramirez DET
RHP James Simmons OAK
1B/OF Sean Doolittle OAK
OF Greg Halman SEA
IF Carlos Triunfel SEA
OF Peter Bourjos LAA
C/1B Hank Conger LAA
RHP Will Smith LAA
RHP Tyler Chatwood LAA
RHP Carlos Rosa KC
RHP Danny Gutierrez KC
RHP David Bromberg MIN
LHP Tyler Robertson MIN
2B Scott Sizemore DET
OF Jordan Danks CWS
LHP Zach Britton BAL
LHP Kyle Lobstein TB
C Austin Romine NYY

Feedback is welcome, but a**hole comments will be met with the like. I apologize in advance for not listing your favorite prospect as high as you would like. This isnt meant as some sort of definitive list - consider it my preferences. Also, its still early and plenty of season is left... so although Im sure someone will dig up my comments at a later date, please remember this was a snapshot of one moment in time, and  my list would probably be different tomorrow and different again the next day.

There are a lot of guys Im not settled on and I kept switching around. I could easily be convinced to swap them around again, so have at it.

Some Probable Pitchers:

(AAA)

Wade Davis (TB)

Kris Johnson (BOS)

Jeff Manship (MIN)

Hector Rondon (CLE)

Jo-Jo Reyes (ATL)

Ryan Rowland-Smith (SEA)

(AA)

Felix Doubront (BOS)

Radhames Liz (BAL)

Madison Bumgarner (SF)

Jhoulys Chacin (COL)

Kyle Drabek (PHI)

Jeremy Papelbon (CHC)

(A+)

David Bromberg (MIN)

(A)

Brandon Hamilton (DET)

Martin Perez (TEX)

Stolmy Pimental (BOS)

Sam Runion (KC)

Notables in actions so far:

-Arodys Vizcaino (NYY): 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R (Unearned), 0 BB, 9 Ks

-Ryan Westmoreland (BOS): 1-4, HR (4),

-Josh Fields (SEA): 0.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 2 K

-Greg Halman (SEA): 1-4, HR, 2 K (still in progress, Stanton and Morrison also in that game)

-Mike Stanton (FLA): 2-3, K

-Logan Morrison (FLA): 0-2, 2 BB, K

-5X5 with OBP instead of AVG

-22 man MLB rosters

-17 man minor league roster

-Auction for MLB players, keepable unless they hit free agency

Here are the results. Id be delighted to hear any feedback, especially which picks people liked and disliked... as well as which teams had the best drafts and which had the worst. Thanks.

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Im unsure of a couple of picks at the end - there were about 6 or 7 more, but there was a flurry of trades. Ill edit this when I figure it out for sure.

Thanks again

Have to bother the community one more time with my fantasy league! It looks like my draft is going to go 1- Smoak, 2-Hosmer. Would I be crazy to trade the #3 & #4 up for the #1 to take Smoak and the #11?

Or should I just take two of:

• Gordon Beckham
• Tim Beckham
• Brian Matusz
• Derek Holland.

I know a lot of people answered Smoak as the BPA in my last question... is he worth two of these guys? Or am I losing my perspective? I thought he was going to drop to me and got settled on taking him... is this pre-buyer's remorse or is Smoak worth it??