We had another post scheduled for today but the esteemed Mr. Sickels threw a monkey wrench our way. No fear; it’s a happy monkey wrench. I assume there will be some disagreements and discussion, which can all take place here.
(PS – comments on the post that was originally up still exist and have been moved to post purgatory along with the actual post itself. Those of you who didn’t stay up till midnight to see the post should be ashamed.)
Entries (RSS)
What if I was up then, but seemingly unlucked out by checking at 11:30ish and failing to see anything new, and 2:00ish ?
The amount of C+ prospects really surprises me. This may end up being a top 6-7 system in Sickels ratings.
The rating of Jay so high is surprising. I don’t know much about him but his numbers have always been good. Is it just a case of being lowered on the depth chart due to Rasmus? Does Jay have a real shot to play in the majors?
Jay certainly has a shot to play in the majors. The two main questions imo are how well his skillset will translate with no better than average power and how good his CF defense is.
If I recall correctly, didn’t someone in the Cardinals system say a year or two ago that Jay was a future batting champion if he stays healthy?
On the topic of wrench throwing, Goldstein’s list should also be out today, if not tomorrow.
actually BA comes out today too, I think. It’s a Cardinal prospect Christmas in january.
Sickels has always been very high on Jay
Fail. BA is on the 23rd.
Looking at this we have an awful lot of C+ players that are blocked by better prospects. We need to start spinning some of these guys to fill org needs…
Although as I say that this goes back to Az’s question a couple weeks back. Why are there no prospects for prospects trades in baseball?
Was Brett Wallace underrated when he was drafted or is he overrated now due to his strong performance thus far in pro ball?
I know that Sickels’ grades should not be taken as the one true gospel but out of the players drafted 1-12 in the ‘08 draft, only Alvarez, Posey and Smoak were given the same grade (A-) as Wallace (Skipworth and Crow have not / will not be rated). Does anybody out there besides Sickels really think that Wallace is a better prospect than Matusz and both Beckhams?
Side-note – I know it’s early but I would think some Astro and Athletic fans would like a “do over” in the ’08 draft. Given the organizational needs at 3B (and 1B for the A’s) of these clubs, Wallace could have been a legitimate contender for a starting job during the second half of 2009. Wallace wasn’t a big-time signing bonus guy either – he received less than both Castro and Weeks.
I dont think Wallace was that underrated when he was drafted everyone knew he could hit but unsure where his defense would profile best and he didnt have the upside of some of the HS players…notice all those guys you mentioned with an A- were out of college and more finished than the HS players…nor do I think he is overrated now but I am teeny bit bullish on him…he is more of a sure thing than both Beckhams and Matusz but Tim B. has potential to be more of franchise type player, imo…
KG still has the Padres and Giants to do first, according to the way he has them listed online. I say Saint goes before San but in BP’s mind St. comes after San. Apparently abbreviations carry some weight.
Erik, look at the bottom of the Pirates list. He says the Cardinals are next.
Didn’t see that. Sweet! Hopefully he puts it out today.
I think if you begin to trade some of thes c+ players you will be selling low. Their rankings and abilities will still increase over the next year. There are several of them that could be B or even A next year. He hinted towards that on a few. Including Erik’s new man crush on Riefer.
i’m not the only one who loves Reifer…
first on the ranking of wallace i imagine hes ranked so high because he looks to have an impact in the near future. how do u compare him to a high schooler?
i like the rankings but i dont get why everybody has a c+ ranking. it seems the grading tool could have been put to better use. the number rankings seem to be pretty good. i like boggs. if he gets one more pitch and a little command hes good to go. i think he has the mental and physical makeup to start in the bigs by 10. hopefully he and garcia can compete in 10.
This made me laugh…
For the record, I’m high on Reifer too.
how different is jay from henley?
Are you insinuating i’m a reifer cheifer?
I too am excited about Reifer. I really think many undervalue Motte. At the minimum, I believe a secondary pitch is coming around. In twelve months, The birds best move of the off-season will be a non-move -Fuentes desire to pitch for the Angels. Lose a first round pick, and eat up 9 million in salary when at least one, (Perez) and possibly two (Motte) serviceable closers are already in our bullpen. By the way, am I the only one who believes that Milton Bradley is a potential MVP canidate next year? Head case or not, injury concerns be damned, you can’t argue with the production. This move by the Cubs is the steal of the offseason. I will now go get my billy goat voodoo doll….
I feel the exact opposite about the Bradley signing. He had a good year last season, but he was a DH all year. His career high in games played is 141, set in 2004. He played in 126 last year, almost strictly as a DH. From 05-07 he played in 75, 96, and 61 games, respectively. He’s a big-time injury risk. I think the Cubs will end up regretting this move, IMO. I think they would have been better off keeping DeRosa.
quickly on milton bradley.
its rare when your rival signs a player and you r actually happy about it. i was absolutely thrilled. not only do they sign a guy who cant stay healthy to a 3 year deal, they reward him based on a career season coming from the best hitters ballpark in baseball. oh yeah he also has some head issues to boot. and oh yeah they traded derosa(for nothing) to get the money to sign him. only way it could have been any better was if they gave him a 5 year deal.
I think it’s worth noting that all his A- are college hitters.
Couldn’t agree more.
My first slot is that we will be seeing the sequel to Zambrano Vs Barrett; Big Z vs Hasbro