#7 was a three horse race between Garcia, Freese and Todd, with Garcia taking the prize.
Following Garcia, things were very close between Freese and Todd , so we’ll do a run off between the two for the #8 spot. Second place gets #9 to speed things along, unless anyone can give me a strong enough objection to do it a different way.
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I think Freese will be a decent major leaguer, but this is too high for him. I predict that Kozma will have a longer ML career than Freese. I voted for Todd
If the numbers remain this close, how about a #8a & #8b?
This is insane. Maybe I should’ve thrown in a third name….
Maybe I’m wrong but Freese seems to be a polarizing prospect among fans. Some think he is top 5-6 while others think he belongs somewhere around 10-13. I would vote for Kozma, Boggs and Jay before Freese but 8 or 9 is probably a nice compromise.
If you rank Freese like me, is your ranking based on organization depth or do you doubt his ability to produce like he did last year?
I am almost feeling like someone is messing with me. There’s just no way it can be exactly tied like this all day, can it?
I put Todd in the lead. Hurry, close the poll!
I think the biggest lead i have seen was 12 votes for Todd. I think thats as big of a gap as we’re going to see.
Some thoughts that may have been covered: Rasmus was issued No. 28, he did not pick it. Rasmus was drafted 28th overall. Though I don’t know for sure, Rasmus has never shown any predilection for the number before — It looks like he prefers Molina’s No. 4.
Rasmus was the only player issued a number — a sign of respect, to be sure — but it was a number with clear numerological significance. Perhaps the team wants to remind a talented individual that he still has a lot to prove.
It’s not out of character for his manager, who chose to bear the symbolic burden of No. 10, to use a number as a motivating tool.
That piece of information was also effectively buried; it was released on Jan. 23, the first day of the main PD beat writer’s vacation, a sure lull in coverage. I’m just sayin. …
I think both Todd and Freese both might be too high, but I gotta go with Todd on this one. Freese is just a little too old to still be in AAA and doesn’t really project to be a solid regular. Todd at least has the chance to be a solid #3 or setup man in the bullpen. I don’t really see Freese being an above average 3rd baseman in the majors. He put a pretty good line up in AAA for his first year, but the PCL was incredibly hitter friendly this past season. I think Todd has the potential to be a better player with a longer career.
Here is the problem with prospect lists (and by problem, I mean what makes them fun to argue about): everyone measures value differently. Some people value players based on what they will eventually contribute, regardless of when that contribution will happen. This is a perfectly valid method of ranking prospects and is how Niko Vasquez ends up in some top ten lists. Niko is several years away from the big leagues, but if you just take what you think he will become and compare it to what you think others will become, he has to be considered one of the Cardinals top prospects.
Others (and I put myself in this category) give a lot more weight to proximity to the big leagues. This is why there is such a disagreement on Freese – he is major league ready and most people think he can be competent right now as a big leaguer. He’s probably not a superstar, but he probably can do a credible job starting at third (which we’ll likely find out in ST and the first month, I suppose) and he is certainly ready for a bench job at the big league level. That is what, in my mind, puts him well above Kozma (for example): Kozma had a nice season at Quad Cities, putting him in line to start the year at Palm Beach while Freese had a very good season at Memphis, putting him in line to start the year in St. Louis.
All that being said, I think the closeness in the polling reflects the fact that once you get past Rasmus and Wallace, the Cardinals have a lot of pretty decent prospects that could slot anywhere from 3-10 and a solid argument could be made for anywhere you place them. This is a good thing.
Kozma finished the year Palm Beach where he struggled in 77 ABs:
http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/K/Pete-Kozma.shtml
Under your analysis, Freese should get extra style points for the fact that Glaus got hurt (i.e., it increases the likelihood that Freese makes the team out of ST). I can buy that analysis. These lists end up being subjective at the end of the day.
Agree 100%. Don’t think either ranking philosophy is right or wrong, but I side with the philosophy that emphasizes proximity to the majors.
Stats have gotten more and more predictive, but there’s still so much that can happen between A ball and the majors that I would value a league average player on the verge of playing in the big leagues over a plus player who’s still two or three levels removed.
I like Freese more than Todd because he has a chance to make more of an impact at this moment, this year on the big league club. If he falls on his face in ST then I will concede that Todd should have won out.
I’m waiting until we get a little more than 500 to call it.
If it’s too close (less than 15), use the official Future Redbird’s list as a tie breaker. Although I wonder if some people found a way to vote multiple times.
I would have to agree with Peirce on this one – I think both players may be too high. I’m not totally sold on Todd, but it’s not because of his stature or any belief that it hinders his ability to start in the bigs. I’m just not sold on his ability, and the one thing I’d be worried about is his delivery and ability to avoid injury if given starters innings. He’s been rushed through the system thus far and I’d like to see how he comes through repeated looks at a single level. I do wish he’d rely less on his slider, though it’d be hard.
Freese is a player I am not overly familiar with, but I feel he’s a guy that would not necessarily benefit from a great deal more time in the minors. My assessment based on what I’ve read/seen of him is that he’s basically limited by his physical skills, but is a heady player with a good understanding of the game and his abilities. The Glaus injury opens up some opportunity for him, but I don’t think a player’s rankings should be based on a clear path to the majors.
Ultimately I voted for Freese because he seems to have less risk as a “prospect” but I’ll openly admit Todd’s ceiling is higher.