A 19 team team points league that I'm in permits us to carry 5 minor leaguers. I currentl have:

1. Travis Snider, OF
   
2. Chris carter (ARI), 1B
   
3. Andy LaRoche, 3B
   
4. Franklin Morales, SP
   
5. Jacob McGee, SP

I'm considering replacing either McGee or Morales with Tommy Hanson, SP ATL.

How would you rate these pitchers?

I'm going to be particiapting in a draft whereby we select an AL team and the players it "owns". Apart from the MLB players this encompasses the minor league systems of each team. Obviously this is a relevant factor in deciding which team to select. I thought I would do a quick and dirty evaluation of each AL team based on John's player ratings. I assigned 6 pts for a A, 5 for a A- down to 1 pt for a C+. I excluded the C calibre players altogether. I then divided the total by 20 (the number of players John listed)which gives greater weight to a deep system versus one that has a few good prospects but no depth. My rating system generated the following result: 1. TB 2.7 2. BOS 2.2 3. MIN 2.1 4. CLE 2.1 5. NYY 2.0 6. KC 2.0 7. LAA 1.9 8. BAL 1.5 9. OAK 1.4 10. DET 1.4 11. TOR 1.3 12. SEA 1.2 13. CHW 1.1 14. Tex - Not rated - no data Obviously TB is in a class by itself. The #2 through #7 sports are pretty equal while the systrems for the remaining teams are relatively spooty.

I have to decide whether or not to add him to my minor roster. He'd probably replace either Jason Bergmann or Marcos Carvajal.

Willems seems to have had a rough start in the GCL rookie league. Batters are hitting about .340 against him although he has a 3.40 ERA. He has only K'd 8 batters in 16 inning admittedly a very small sample size.

There's nothing here which would suggest that he's a good replacement for either Carvajal or Bergmann. Does anyone have more information?

I'm involved in a minor league draft and have 2 picks remaining. I'm considering the following players after some research and diging:

1. John Drennen, OF CLE
   
2. Chris Carter, 3B CWS
   
3. Keiron Pope, OF BAL

The data on each is some what limited. John rates Drennen as a B prospect which is quite good but the other 2 are not rated as far as I know.

Their MiLB stats for 2006 are:

1. Drennen (Lo A) .321/.409/.471/.880 (OPS) in 240 AB with 6 HR, 30 RBI and a 31/52 K/BB ratio
2. Carter (R) .299/.398/.570/.968 (OPS) in 251 AB with 15 HR, 59 RBI and a 34/70 K/BB ratio.
3. Pope (R) .341/.411/.585/.996 (OPS) in 135 AB with 5 HR, 29 RBI  and a 10/36 K/BB ratio.

Drennen was promted to Hi A and struggled while Carter started at Lo A and was apparently sent down to the Rookie league.

This is the limit of my information. I would tend to rank the players as listed above. Does anyone have additional information that might prove helpful?

I just took over a team in a 19 team mixed points league. We are allowed to keep a 5 man minor roster. I have justed traded away Jay Bruce (OF) and Anthony Reyes (P) in a deal that also netted me Humberto Sanchez (P).

My minor roster is now comprised of Andy LaRoche (3B), Troy Tulowitzki (SS), Radhames Liz (P) and sanchez. I now have an empty roster spot to fill and would prefer to use it for a hitter. The players below appear to be the best candidates available to me. I have ranked them in my order of preference which is essentially to get the best hitter available.

1. Carlos Gonzalez, OF ARI
   
2. Kevin Kouzmanoff, 3B CLE
   
3. Travis Snider 1B/OF TOR
   
4. Colby Rasmus, OF STL
   
5. Jacob Ellsbury, OF BOS

Poll

Best Prospect to Draft

60%

Carlos Gonzalez, OF ARI

71 votes

11%

Kevin Kouzmanoff, 3B CLE

13 votes

5%

Travis Snider 1B/OF TOR

6 votes

10%

Colby Rasmus, OF STL

12 votes

13%

Jacob Ellsbury, OF BOS

16 votes

118 votes | Poll has closed

Is there a link to have a look at the various team reviews that have been posted by John in the recent past? I have a number of players that I am considering obtaining in a trade. They won't make any top 50 or top 100 this year but could be useful players in the future. Some of the players being considered are:

Joey Votto
Kevin Kouzmanoff
Ryan Roberts
Jeff Bianchi
Nolan Reimold

Does anyone know a source for the complete 2006 Minor draft - I'm looking for a list of each player drafted by round. BA has a list but it contains the scouting reports/analysis for the main players selected. I', looking for something a little simpler - a basic list, e.g.

Pick #/Player

1. Joe Blow
   
2. etc.        

I posted  the 1st round results of a MiLB draft in which I'm participating. The draft is now into the 2nd round and I've another pick coming up. The selections to date are:

Round 1
1 Delmon Young, OF
2 Jeremy Hermida, OF
3 Ian Stewart, 3B
4 Hanley Ramirez, SS
5 Andy LaRoche, 3B
6 Francisco Liriano, SP
7 Prince Fielder, 1B
8 Matt Cain, SP
9 Ryan Zimmerman, 3B
10 Carlos Quentin, OF * mine
11 Brandon Wood, SS
12 Conor Jackson, 1B
13 Alex Gordon, 3B * mine
14 Lastings Milledge, OF
15 Bobby Jenks, RP
16 Anthony Reyes, SP
17 Howie Kendrick, 2B
18 Jonathan Papelbon, SP
19 Stephen Drew, SS
20 team failed to select

Round 2
21 team failed to select
22 Eric Duncan, 1b
23 Scott Olsen, SP
24 Justin Verlander, SP
25 Brian Anderson, OF
26 Andy Marte, 3b
27 Chad Billingsley, P
28 Jered Weaver, P
29 Billy Butler, OF
30
31 ** mine

My ranking for the best players remaining, taking into consideration the probability of their playing in 2006, are:

1. Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
   
2. Nick Markakis, OF
   
3. Daric Barton, 1B
   
4. Jarrod Saltalamaccia, C
   
5. Joel Guzman, SS/1B (?)
   
6. Dustin Pedroia, SS

I've deliberately excluded any SP or Rp although there are several outstanding ones available. I hope/expect to get one of the latter in a later round.

Is my ranking out of whack? I only ranked Gonzalez so highly because it appears that he'll have significant playing time at 1B in San Diego. Correct or valid assumption?

Your thoughts and comments were very helpful earlier and greatly appreciated.

I'm in a minor draft at the moment and we are in the first round. I draft #10 and #13 (obtained via trade). The Draft Selections so far are:

1. Delmon Young
   
2. Jeremy Hermida
   
3. Ian Stewart
   
4. Hanley Ramirez
   
5. Andy Laroche
   
6. Francisco Liriano
   
7. Prince Fielder
   
8. Matt Cain
   
9. Ryan Zimmerman
   
10. Carlos Quentin (mine)

As I said I pick again at #13 and so I should be able to get one of the following prospects:

1. Gordon
   
2. Drew
   
3. Wood <- my #1 - probably 3B for ANA by mid 06

Any one would be acceptable to me although Gordon or Wood would be preferable because of the likelihood of playing 3B - have I missed a preferred prospect? I know Butler is also available.

I'm going to be participating in a draft of players designated as "Minor League" players. The designation is based upon the the following criteria:

1. Hitters: have less than 54 games or 150 AB
   
2. Pitchers: have less than 10 GS or 50 IP

I'm drafting 10th (and 31st) and need to rank the top players available. For my purposes it is desirable but not essential that they be MLB ready in 2006. My rankings for the top 10 players are:

1. Francisco Liriano - potential #1/2 SP
   
2. Jeremy Hermida - starter in 06
   
3. Delmon Young - probable starter in 06 but where
   
4. Matt Cain - potential #1 SP
   
5. Stephen Drew - probable 07 arrival
   
6. Ian Stewart  - probable 07 arrival
   
7. Alex Gordon  - probable 07 arrival
   
8. Chad Billingsley potential #1 SP
   
9. Billy Butler - probable 07 arrival
   
10. Andy Marte  - probable 07 arrival
    
11. Brandon Wood - probable 07 arrival

As you can see I tend to rank SPs probably a little too high - but both Liriano and Cain appear to have great potential in a thin area.

Excluded are Felix Hernandez, BJ Upton and Zach Duke who do not qualify and Justin Upton who has not yet signed with his mlb team and hence is not eligible for our draft.

Your comments on the rankings would be appreciated in terms of the relative positions I have asssigned and any players who have been ommitted that should be included.

I'm nearing the end of a draft of MLB and Minor players  to stock a 40 player roster. We could keep 10 players (MLB and Minor) and are drafting 15 more. The remainder will be filled by an auction process. So far I have concentrated rather heavily on drafting Minor players because I did not want to have to bid on players with no MLB background - particularly players who are likely to be 2 or 3 years from the Majors.

I am looking to draft another catcher. I have already drafted Saltalamacchia but he's not expected to arrive in the Majors until about 2008 at the very earliest and maybe moved from catcher. I was looking at selecting either George Kottaras (SD) or Russ Martin (LAD). I'm leaning towards Kottaras because his route to the majors may be a little easier than Martins. I would prefer to draft the best prospect and so far there seems little to choose between them.

Comments and suggestions would be appreciated.

Does anyone have recent information about the status of Dustan Hermanson (CWS). I know his back was a problem in the latter part of the season and Jenks took over the closer role. But given the latter's inexperience and background I don't think it is a slam dunk that he will retain that role throughout 2006.

I'm looking for some information on Hermanson's health and his status with the team.  

Brandon Medders name has surfaced in some analysis that I have been conducting vis-a-vis Relief Pitchers. Does anyone have any background information that they could provide? I know he is a Relief Pitcher for Arizona but can find little other information at the moment.

I am in the midst of a player draft for a fantasy league. We count holds as a pitching category. I was considering drafting him. Is there any likelihood that he could ttake the closers job from Valverde?

His 2005 line was impressive but limited to 30 IP.

I would appreciate any help.

A league of which I am a member is conducting a draft which permits both both major and minor league players to be selected.

I have several picks coming shortly and was planning to use one of them to draft either Atlanta's Jarrod Saltalamacchia or San Diego's George Cotteras. While I am somewhat familiar with both players, other opinions would be valuable.

Whichever player I don't take at this opportunity, I plan to take with a subsequent pick but that might not be for another 4 rounds or so - if he is still available.

I guess the main question is which should I take first. I know that Cotteras is probably closer to starting in MLB than Saltalamacchia but that really is not a primary consideration for me. I want the best player.

The Bliue Jays have added to their log jam of players at 1B and 3B with the acquisition of Overbay. They now have Overbay, Hinske, Koskie and Hillenbrand to play 1B and 3B and I haven't even factored Aaron Hill into the equation.

Anyone heard any rumours of the BJs trading a couple of those players - preferably Koskie although he is probably the hardest to move.