Signing deadline is coming soon (August 15). Just wanted to start a thread about the guys who have yet to sign. Normally I do lots of research on our draft prospects but haven't been able to this year. Anyways, here's the top 20 players still unsigned:

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How can one explain the enigma that is BJ Upton? Fans drool over his potential, but loathe the results he's had this year. He's not the best player on the Rays, not the worse either, yet mentioning his name arguably creates the biggest controversy. I am not here to call BJ lazy. Just to state facts since I know you all love stats. I think we can all agree BJ is a very good to great defensive player, so this analysis is only based on offense.

• A WPA (win probability) of -1.16- ranks 147 out of 169 qualified players
• A K% (strikeout percentage) of 27.1- rank 154
• A wOBA (weighted on base average)  of .331- rank 102
• A wRC (runs created) of 41.0- rank 113
• A wRAA (runs above average) of 1.8- rank 103
• A ISO (isolated power) of .163- rank 83
• A LD% (line drive percent) of 15.8- rank 150
• A SwStr% (swinging strikes) of 12.6- rank 160
• A Z-Contact% (contact percent in the strike zone) of 79.2- rank 165
• A BB% (walk percent) of 11.3- rank 48
• A Spd (speed rating) of 8.0- rank 3
• A O-Swing% (swings outside the strikezone) of 24.3- rank 39
• A WAR (wins above replacement) of 1.4- rank 92

The couple things he does well (i.e walk, steal bases, and not swing at balls) doesnt make up the difference for all the holes in his offense. I get annoyed by people saying BJ is an above average hitter. He's a below average hitter no matter what stats you're using (saber or traditional). I am not a BJ hater. I want him to reach his potential as much as anyone else. I'm just stating facts.

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I recently saw scout videos of our 4th round pick Ty Morrison, 15th Brandon Meredith, and 29th Brandon Magee. As most of you know, they are 3 highly thought of OFers. Morrison signed already and the other two have until Friday. RJ had me intrigued by these guys so I did some research on them and watched video on them. Here's notes on what I saw:

Ty Morrison (6'2 170)-
Reminds me of a young Baldelli (before knowledge of a disease of course). He's extremely lanky, but should get some good power once his frame fills out. I dont like his swing is inconsistent. Some times he'd have a long swing, some times a short. The bat speed is good when its short so getting that down is vital.His arm is just awful. Hopefully that can improve. It's about as good as Crawford's at best. He does have good speed tho. Ran a 4.3 to first which is above average in the MLB (Im pretty sure Crawford runs a 3.8 flat on average and Jose Reyes runs a 3.7). Overall he's a very good project prospect who should be close to 200 pounds in about 4 years, so the power will come, and if he can consistently keep his swing short than he'll hit for a good average.

Brandon Meredith (6'2 225)-
Probally should play first base. His arm is by far the worse of the 3. Not overwhelming speed either, 4.6 to first. But what he lacks in arm strength and speed, he definetly makes up for in Power and bat speed. I love his swing. It's the type of swing that could hit any ball out on any part of the field. His swing could easily produce 450 ft shots, thats devastating power for a high schooler. Of course, at 225 pounds that is to be expected. Another thing I noticed, he doesnt seem to know where the strike zone is. He would swing at balls in the dirt and at his chest, and wouldnt swing at balls down the middle sometimes. Overall, he is my least favorite of the 3. Reminds me of another Royster.

Brandon Magee (6' 230)-
He reminds me alot of Crawford, but better. He's fast....boy is he fast. Ran a 3.72 to first. His arm is average right now but easily the strongest and most accurate of the 3. Even his batting stance is close to CC's. There's a big difference in it tho. He gets under balls better and drives them better than CC. Doesnt have a great opposite field homerun swing like Meredith but still has tremendous power when he turns on one. Very good bat speed too. Not as fast as Meredith's but still good. Overall, he seems like the most complete prospect out of the 3. Nothing in his game seems bad or close to it. Likely fell to the 29th round only because of football. I could care less if Meredith doesnt sign because I dont think he'll pan out, but if Magee isnt signed than I'll be disappointed. I'd actually rate him higher than Morrison. People, he's that good. I've never been so blown away by a prospect in the lower rounds like I have with Magee. SIGN HIM!!!

As always, I hoped you enjoyed this.

We all know of Price, Davis, Hellickson, Brignac etc...

It's easy to know those guys. They are talked about more and consider less likely to fail because they are closer. Well this post is dedicated strictly to the guys in Colombus (low A ball) and lower. I'll only post about guys I feel have a good shot to one day be considered one of our top 10 prospects. If I like them, but dont know enough yet than you will find them under the Other Sleepers at the bottom of each affiliate. Any kind of scouting reports you guys can find would be very welcomed.

Colombus (low A ball):

Alex Cobb (20)-SP
He's not a huge guy (6'1) or the hardest thrower but he's very effective. His best pitch is his sinker, which is very good. He's still working on the command of the breaking pitches but that's to be expected. He induces twice as many groundballs than flyballs. He also strikes out around 7 guys per 9 innings. The ability to get alot of grounders could make him a star if he plays behind our defense. You probally wont hear too much of him this offseason but with a strong 2009 in Vero Beach, he could sneak onto the BA top 100.

Other Sleepers: None

Hudson Valley (short season ball):

Jacob Jefferies (20)-C
The scouting report on him coming out of college was: Good contact hitter, Good plate discipline, Good defense, and little power. That report has been dead on so far. His BB/K ratio is 1, which shows how patient he is. Also 17 k's in 156 AB's is ridiculous. Catchers usually take longer than any other prospect to develop but so far I can see why we took him in the 3rd round. He'll have a bright future and shoot through the minors if he can keep his plate discipline. Keep in mind he's a 2008 draftee so the sample size is still small.

Nick Barnese (19)- SP
Most of know about him already so I wont go into alot of detail. To make it short, he's nasty. Behind Price, Davis, Hellickson and McGee, he's the next great SP prospect in line. Following the same path as Hellickson and just as dominate. Could make the BA top 100 (like Hellickson did after SS ball).

Tyree Hayes (just turned 20)- SP
Had his best performance as a pro today, and is my inspiration for the post. He gets alot of ground balls but doesnt strike guys out a whole lot. Needs to work on his command (21 BBs in 50 IP) but the grounders could end up saving him in the higher levels. In order for him to succeed and be considered a top prospect soon, he'll need to strike more guys out. 4.5 K's/9 is just not going to cut it if he wants to stay a starter. If he does pickup the K's, than look for him to be another Alex Cobb.

Kyeong Kang (20)-OF
6'2 200 LBS. Good power potential. Hits for a nice average and has a good eye. Biggest thing going for him is his age. He'll need to keep all of his stats close to the same level while developing power to be considered anything special. He's a sleeper prospect for next year IMO. Half of his hits have been XBH so far, which bodes well for the future.

Other Sleepers-Michael Sheridan

Princeton (rookie ball):

Tim Beckham (18)-SS
Again we all know him so im not going to spend long on him. Great defense and good bat. Needs to develop power to make the comparisons to the Uptons true. BTW he's hitting over .320 in his last 10 games.

 Matt Moore (19)-SP
Quite possibly my favorite low level prospect. Reminds me alot of another McGee. 58 K's in 39 IP. Thats like 15 k's/9! Gets alot of grounders and opponents are hitting .174 off him. As a 6'2, 205 LB lefty, his future is very bright. Look for him to move to Hudson Valley next year. Also 0 HR's given up in 39 IP this year. He's an amazing talent and it should be fun to watch him move up.

Other Sleepers: Kyle Ayers, Jason McEachern, Chris Luck, Burt Reynolds, Elias Otero (tho he's a little old for my liking), Brian Bryles, and Chris (Ty) Morrison.

Notes: The lack of talent in Colombus is disheartening and it shows. They are the second worst team in the Sally league. Cobb is likely the only one with any future with us. Hudson Valley has some good prospects but Barnese is by far the most ready to move to Colombus. Obviously the talent in Princeton is loaded. Most of the potential won't be reached which is why I only went with the two I felt will reach their potential. The best thing about Princeton's sleepers (except Otero) is that they all are very young and have a lot of time to succeed (or fail).

Below are some players low level players who are playing very well that deserve some consideration to move up.

1. Jason Tweedy- 20th round pick in 2008- 27 G, 105 AB, .408 OBP, 865 OPS, 12 SB and 0 CS. Age 21. Seems like he has good tools and knows how to use them. Strikeouts are a concern (29 in 27 games) but he sort of makes up for it with walks (11 so far).

2. Nick Barnese-3rd round pick in 2007-34.1 IP, 1.57 ERA, 10.75 Ks/9 IP, .211 avg against, and 1.08 WHIP. 19 years old but obviously isnt challenged.

3. Elias Otero- 24 G, 19/8 K to BB ratio, .425 OBP, 1.046 OPS. 20 years old.

4. Eli Sonoqui- 27 G, 36/12 K to BB ratio, .414 OBP, .853 OPS, 20 years old, strikeouts are a little worrisome IMO.

5. Joseph Cruz-29 IP, 2.17 ERA, 10.55 K/9, 34/6 K to BB, 1.24 WHIP. Just turned 20, but has been good so far.

6. Matt Moore-25 IP, 2.84 ERA, 13.5 K/9, .194 Avg against, 1.11 WHIP. Just turned 19 years old! Someone got a scouting report on his stuff?

So I know these are all on small sample sizes. Honestly I would probally wait 1 or 2 more starts for all of the pitchers before moving them up. Of the hitters, I think Tweedy should move up first. He's already 21, about to be 22, and has shown he can hit and looks to have some speed as well. What do you guys think?