SB Nation User Blog: rdf8585

BA WAS TOP 10

rdf8585 — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:11:32 -0000

SEE BA STORY HERE

1. Stephen Strasburg, rhp

2. Derek Norris, c

3. Drew Storen, rhp

4. Ian Desmond, ss

5. Danny Espinosa, ss

6. Chris Marrero, 1b

7. Jeff Kobernus, 2b

8. Justin Maxwell, of

9. Michael Burgess, of

10. Destin Hood, of

Only name I'm surprised to see is Kobernus... a second rounder this year who got 41 AB in the NYPL before going down with a season ending injury (by the looks of his stats). I don't know much about him and don't recall hearing his name much leading up the draft.

What do people make of Hood at this point? A former Alabama high school football star, Hood has a high ceiling but hasn't shown a lot in the minors since being drafted in 2008. Struggled in the GCL that year, repeated it with big numbers this year, but then struggled in the NYPL after that.

Poll

Will Drew Storen have at least 10 saves for the Nats in 2010?

BA PHI TOP 10

rdf8585 — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:15:27 -0000

See BA story here

1. Domonic Brown, of

2. Kyle Drabek, rhp

3. Michael Taylor, of

4. Travis D'Arnaud, c

5. Trevor May, rhp

6. Anthony Gose, of

7. Sebastian Valle, c

8. Jarred Cosart, rhp

9. Antonio Bastardo, lhp

10. Domingo Santana, of

Still waiting for splashes from their top two picks from 2008 -- Anthony Hewitt and Zach Collier. Collier made the top 10 last year but dropped off it this year. Hewitt looked abysmal in the NYPL, as evidenced by 9 walks vs 77 K in 61 games.

Santana looks like someone who could jump up this list in the next few years. He just turned 17 in August and hit .288/.388/.508 in the GCL. He's already listed at 6'5"/200.

Poll

Who do you hold out more hope for?

BP BAL Top 15

rdf8585 — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:58:53 -0000

See BP story here

Five-Star Prospects
1. Brian Matusz, LHP
Four-Star Prospects
2. Josh Bell, 3B
3. Jake Arrieta, RHP
4. Zach Britton, LHP
Three-Star Prospects
5. Matt Hobgood, RHP
6. Brandon Erbe, RHP
7. Brandon Synder, 1B
8. Mychal Givens, SS
9. Caleb Joseph, C
Two-Star Prospects
10. Brandon Waring, 1B /3B
11. Cameron Coffey, RHP

Four more:

12. Steve Johnson, RHP
13. Kam Mickolio, RHP
14. Troy Patton, LHP
15. Michael Ohlman, C

Bell over Arrieta is somewhat surprising, but Arrieta is knocked for being mostly fastball with questionable secondary pitches. It kinda makes you wonder if he doesn't ultimately end up at the back end of a bullpen.

Poll

Will Jake Arrieta end up having more career wins or career saves?

BA NYM TOP 10

rdf8585 — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:35:33 -0000

See BA story here

1. Jenrry Mejia, rhp

2. Wilmer Flores, ss

3. Fernando Martinez, of

4. Ike Davis, 1b

5. Brad Holt, rhp

6. Jon Niese, lhp

7. Reese Havens, 2b/ss

8. Josh Thole, c

9. Ruben Tejada, 2b/ss

10. Juan Urbina, lhp

*** Fernando Martinez was ranked 1st in each of the last two years.

*** Could argue Niese belongs above Holt. The same writer had the two flipped last year. I don't see why they were flipped now.

*** Jefry Marte, who was ranked 6th last year, doesn't get much of a mulligan for struggling against older competition. The 18-year-old had a miserable year in the Sally League, hitting .233/.279/.338 with a 25/117 BB/K in 425 AB. He also committed 49 errors, for what that's worth.

*** Despite missing a lot of time in each of the past two years, Havens doesn't seem to be downgraded all that much. In fact, he is up 1 slot from last year. I've just never been a big fan. I'd take Tejada before him.

*** Urbina was the Mets biggest international splash this year.... son of Ugueth Urbina.... has not pitched yet.

*** Jeurys Familia is a surprising omission.... would have thought he would have been on here before Urbina.

Poll

Who's YOUR #1 in the Mets system?

BA ATL TOP 10

rdf8585 — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:43:09 -0000

See BA story here

1. Jason Heyward, of

2. Freddie Freeman, 1b

3. Julio Teheran, rhp

4. Mike Minor, lhp

5. Craig Kimbrel, rhp

6. Christian Bethancourt, c

7. Randall Delgado, rhp

8. Zeke Spruill, rhp

9. Cody Johnson, of

10. Adam Milligan, of

The one thing that screams out at me is Delgado's somewhat low placement. The guy had a really good year as a 19-year-old in the Sally League. He had a 49/141 BB/K in 121 innings and was even better at the end. Over his last 10 starts, he had a 2.95 ERA with a 9/65 BB/K in 55 innings.

A case could be made that he should be as high as 4, which is where Sickels put him. If you're talking about ceiling, then I don't know how Minor can be ranked above Delgado. Minor may have a higher floor and he may a safer bet to be something in the majors but he just appears to lack the ceiling Delgado has. I've seen Sowers comps on Minor.

Kimbrel's 103 strikeouts in 60 innings are eye-popping, but so are his 45 walks and he's limited to the bullpen. Admittedly, I don't know a lot about Bethancourt and while his numbers look decent (especially given his age/position), Delgado has dominated a higher level of the minors.

Sickels noted Delgado has been underrated. This list is another example of that.

I was more impressed with Sickels' Braves top 10:

1) Jason Heyward, OF.

2) Freddie Freeman, 1B

3) Julio Teheran, RHP

4) Randall Delgado, RHP

5) Craig Kimbrel, RHP

6) Mike Minor, LHP

7) Christian Bethancourt, C

8) J.J. Hoover, RHP

9) Zeke Spruill, RHP

10) David Hale, RHP

Poll

Which Braves top 10 is better?

2010 closer?

rdf8585 — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 15:34:35 -0000

It seems all but official that Valverde and Hawkins won't be coming back for 2010. That leaves a pretty gaping hole at the back of the bullpen without many in-house fixes. But one guy who could be an in-house fix might be Sammy Gervacio. For the most part, he has had a good debut this year and he may be the best in-house beat to close next year. How likely is it that he is given the 9th inning job next year? I'm not sure who else there is right now.

If you go outside the org, it would be something if Billy Wagner returns to his old team/role. Rafael Soriano and Texas native Mike Gonzalez will be out there as well. Hoffman and Rodney will also be FA.

Who's the early pick to be in the 9th inning mix?

Storen to AA

rdf8585 — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 16:03:04 -0000

The Nationals have promoted 2009 first rounder Drew Storen to Double-A following short-but-impressive stints in Low A and High A. The quick move up the ranks makes you wonder just how quickly he'll get to the majors. So what do you say - can he make it to majors this year?

Overall, he has pitched 24.2 innings, allowing eight earned runs on 18 hits and 2 walks. He has struck out 37.

Poll

Will Drew Storen pitch in the majors in 2009?

Yes

45 votes

No

60 votes

105 votes | Poll has closed

6/29 MILB Thread

rdf8585 — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:30:52 -0000

Here are some starting pitchers to track throughout the day and night

Wade Davis, Michael Bowden, Jeanmar Gomez, Carlos Gutierrez, Corey Luebke, Samuel Deduno, Rowdy Hardy, Zachary Britton, David Bromberg, Jeff Allison, Yohan Flande, JJ Hoover, Manny Banuelos, Jeruys Familia, and Oliver Drake.

Joe Savery 6-2-0-4-2

Felix Doubront - 1 IP, game susp due to rain

MWL is off today.

As is often the case, there may be a few others as MILB adds names to the scoreboard pages, but these are the bulk of them.

Minor League Baseball Scoreboard

Post away.

6/28 MILB Thread

rdf8585 — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 16:20:00 -0000

Here are some starting pitchers to track throughout the day and night

Ian Snell, Chris Tillman, Manny Parra, Aaron Laffey, Ross Detwiler, Felix Doubront, Lance Lynn, Jeremy McBryde, Ben Hornbeck, Alex Torres, Clayton Tanner, Mark Rogers, Deolis Guerra, Mike Montgomery, Tyler Chatwood, Anthony Bass, Zeke Spruill, Trey Haley.

As is often the case, there may be a few others as MILB adds names to the scoreboard pages, but these are the bulk of them.

Minor League Baseball Scoreboard

Post away.

6/27 MILB Thread

rdf8585 — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 15:51:41 -0000

Here are some starting pitchers to track throughout the day and night

Clay Buchholz, Tom Gorzelanny, Troy Patton, Franklin Morales, Will Inman, Trevor Bell, Brad Holt, Brian Matusz, Jay Jackson, Jeremy Hellickson, Dan Cortes, Trevor Reckling, Nick Schmidt (High-A debut, could see him being fast-tracked if he's successful), Andrew Cashner, Richard Castillo, Jeremy Horst, Mauriclo Robles, Matt Fairel, Chris Carpenter, Brett DeVall, Hector Noesi, Young-Il Jung

As is often the case, there may be a few others as MILB adds names to the scoreboard pages, but these are the bulk of them.

Minor League Baseball Scoreboard

Post away.

Poll

Will Jeremy Jeffress, now suspended for 100 games due to his second drug violation, ever pitch an inning in the majors? Another positive test is a lifetime ban.

Yes

24 votes

No

52 votes

76 votes | Poll has closed