First things first: Clay Buchholz was terrible last year.  That being said, I just read an article over at Project Prospect talking about Clay Buchholz, and the guy who wrote it said that to him, if Buchholz was still elligible, he would be the number 2 pitching prospect in baseball (behind Price, of course).  I just wanted to see what other people thought about this statement, and where you guys would put him on a prospect list if he were still elligible.  What kind of expectations do you have for him this year, and for his career?  Early reports from spring training are positive from a mechanics and confidence standpoint.  Thanks for any opinions you might have!

 

I saw under Dewey's post of Top Fantasy Keepers that a lot of people wanted to incorporate prospects into it.  In keeping with that frame of mind, I have made a list of my top players at each position who are 25 years of age and under.  For my rankings players already producing in the majors will generally be more valuable but upside is also factored in.  If I have forgot someone who is obvious or you just want to voice your opinions on my rankings, feel free to let me know.  (The outfielders and pitchers were very difficult to rank).

 

Top 10 Catchers

1. Russell Martin (Contributes across the board)

2. Joe Mauer

3. Brian McCann

4. Geovany Soto

5. Matt Wieters

6. Buster Posey

7. Chris Ianetta

8. Carlos Santana

9. Jeff Clement

10. Taylor Teagarden

 

Top 10 First Basemen

1. Miguel Cabrera (Clearly at the top for me, one of the best hitters at his age ever)

2.  Prince Fielder

3. Chris Davis

4. Joey Votto

5. Justin Smoak

6. Lars Anderson

7. James Loney

8. Billy Butler

9. Eric Hosmer

10. Logan Morrison

 

Top 10 Second Basemen

1. Dustin Pedroia (Clearly at the top for a position that is very weak with upcoming talent)

2. Howie Kendrick

3. Jose Lopez

4. Asdrubal Cabrera

5. Adrian Cardenas

6. Alexi Casilla

7. Emilio Bonifacio

8. Sean Rodriguez

9. Chris Coghlan

10. Jemile Weeks

 

Top 10 Shortstops

1. Hanley Ramirez (No explanation required)

2. Jose Reyes

3. Troy Tulowitzki

4. Stephen Drew

5. Tim Beckham

6. Gordon Beckham

7. Brandon Wood

8. Elvis Andrus

9. Jed Lowrie

10. Alcides Escobar

 

Top 10 Third Basemen

1. Evan Longoria (Stud you could build a fantasy team around)

2. Ryan Zimmerman

3. Pedro Alvarez

4. Alex Gordon

5. Ian Stewart

6. Mike Moustakas

7. Brett Wallace

8. Dayan Viciedo

9. Mat Gamel

10. Josh Vitters

 

Top 20 Outfielders

1. Ryan Braun (Again, not a hard choice.  He should be great for a long time)

2. Nick Markakis

3. B.J. Upton

4. Matt Kemp

5. Justin Upton

6. Jay Bruce

7. Jacoby Ellsbury

8. Cameron Maybin

9. Hunter Pence

10. Delmon Young

11. Jason Heyward

12. Colby Rasmus

13. Travis Snider

14. Chris Young

15. Adam Jones

16. Dexter Fowler

17. Matt LaPorta

18. Lastings Milledge

19. Elijah Dukes

20. Andrew McCutchen

 

Top 30 Starting Pitchers

1. Tim Lincecum

2. Cole Hamels

3. Chad Billingsley

4. Felix Hernandez

5. David Price

6. Clayton Kershaw

7. Joba Chamberlain

8. Edinson Volquez

9. Scott Kazmir

10. Francisco Liriano

11. Jon Lester

12. Yovani Gallardo

13. Zach Greinke

14. Matt Cain

15. Justin Verlander

16. Matt Garza

17. John Danks

18. Johnny Cueto

19. Clay Buchholz

20. Max Scherzer

21. Madison Bumgarner

22. Neftali Feliz

23. Trevor Cahill

24. Josh Johnson

25. Brandon Morrow

26. Ubaldo Jimenez

27. Rick Porcello

28. Jair Jurrjens

29. Brett Anderson

30. Kevin Slowey

 

Top 10 Relief Pitchers

1. Joakim Soria

2. Jonathan Broxton

3. Matt Capps

4. Joey Devine

5. Huston Street

6. Chris Perez

7. Jose Arredondo

8. Daniel Bard

9. Mark Melancon

10. Joel Zumaya

 

There it is, hope that sparks some discussion.  Now feel free to rip me to shreds.

1. David Price

2. Tim Beckham

3. Wade Davis

4. Reid Brignac

5. Desmond Jennings

6. Matt Moore

7. Nick Barnese

8. Jeremy Hellickson

9. Jake McGee

10. Jeff Niemann

 

I don't know what other people think, but this list, like most of the other BA lists this year, seems a little off.  I have no idea how they can say that Hellickson is the 5th best starting pitcher PROSPECT for the team.  Moore and Barnese are nice prospects but I'm not sure how they can be ahead of Hellickson and Niemann.  I would have Hellickson at 4 on this list, because Brignac took a step back offensively and Jennings hardly played.  I'm fine with Price, Beckham, Davis being top 3 though of course.  Any thoughts on this list, and the BA lists in general so far?

I was wondering what people think of Ricky Nolasco.  Is he a bonafide front of the rotation starter?  Or was his strong performance this year inhibited with poor peripherals?  Any insight would be greatly appreciated.  I know he used to be a pretty solid prospect, maybe he finally reached his potential. 

 

 

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This is similar to another post I saw, I need to cut a few minor leaguers from my squad as well.  12 team dynasty, 23 minor leaguers.  Need to cut possibly 5 players.  Any opinions would be greatly appreciated.

My Position Players

Jesus Montero, Carlos Santana, Justin Smoak, Logan Morrison, Emilio Bonifacio, Pedro Alvarez, Mike Moustakas, Billy Rowell, Michael Stanton, Engel Beltre

My Pitchers

David Price, Jeremy Hellickson, Jordan Zimmermann, Jarrod Parker, Jake Arrieta, Daniel Cortes, Martin Perez, Danny Duffy, Fautino de los Santos, Ross Detwiler, Andrew Brackman, Julio Teheran, Chuck Lofgren

 

Also, if you wouldn't mind letting me know which 5 players you absolutely would keep no matter what, that would be awesome too. Thanks.

Has anyone heard any positive buzz about Andrew Brackman's return to pitching?  It looks from his stats like he's had some troubles with control and he's had a few bad and a few good outings.  Just kind of curious as to what people are thinking about him right now as a major league prospect.

 

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