Bird Land voters are cuckoo
Posted on October 17th, 2009 by erik in Prospect rankings, tags: David Freese, idiots, shelby millerDerrick Goold has his annual community prospect ranking going on. It was a bit of a shock to see Jaime Garcia top Shelby Miller for the #1 spot, but I can see the merit of it. Garcia, not far removed from Tommy John surgery, has the stuff to be a solid #3 starter and could make a meaningful contribution to the big club as soon as next season. Miller has the higher ceiling, of course, but is far from being a finished product.
But in the contest for the #2 spot, stupidity reigneth. David Freese is currently leading Shelby Miller by 101 votes, 675-574! What in the name of the spaghetti monster is happening here?!? Now, I sort of like Freese. I think he has a role to play next year, possibly starting at 3B or more likely off the bench. He has smitten the heart of the manager with his willingness to play catcher on the last game of the regular season. However, he’s probably a 1 win player when it’s all said and done. And then let’s not forget an important fact about Freese. One month into next season, HE’S GOING TO BE 27 YEARS OLD! 27! and still in prospect discussions.
This is absolutely no reflection on Goold, of course, but a large section of bird-brained voters who think a 27 year old bench player is a better prospect than Shelby Miller.
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I was shocked and disappointed to when i saw this as well. Obviously, with so many people voting there are going to be a lot of different opinions but usually the community top 30 has more validity than this.
I, too, am disappointed at this, but not at all shocked. If I remember correctly, there were some completely goofy choices last year too. I voted for Shelby in both cases this year, and after seeing Freese take over by such a margin, I think I just might opt out the rest of the choices. I’ll wait until someone else does a community poll – here, or VEB, etc.
Miller was way ahead when I voted. It’s all those Cards talk people voting. Plus, they saw Freese hit a homerun this year and heard LaRussa say, “he’s going to be a player.” 27 year olds are not prospects, though, I definitely agree.
Currently Freese has 41% of the vote, Miller has 34% and then Craig, Lynn, Sanchez, Greene and Jones split 25%. So it seems unfair to blame Freese and the people that voted for him when Miller can’t get more than one third of the vote. As Goold is promoing his vote, the issue is proximity versus potential, with the Bird Land votes going for proximity for #1 and #2. If Miller has the expected good first year he will be #1 next year, but currently the idea of a potential #3 (#5 for 2010) starting pitcher and a starting 3b are garnering a higher ranking for this year.
maybe the voters are putting to much stock in proximity to MLB roster…cause freese is certainly more likely to have an impact on the ML team next year…still doesn’t make a lot of sense
I wouldn’t vote Freese #2 either but I wouldn’t go so far as to say he’s not a prospect because he’s going to be 27. I believe he was 23 when he was drafted so it’s not like he wallowed around in the minors for years and then finally had a good one. In fact he’s zipped through the minors, done well everywhere and would have been with the team this year but for the injury. Given the state of the system, the probable need at 3b and the likelihood he can do a far better job than this year’s platoons he makes my top five.
Miller probably would be my number 2 but only because of the dearth of choices. With two professional innnings pitched I’d be relying only on hype and scouting reports in rating him and, if we had some higher ceiling choices who’d played professionally for a couple of years I’d probably put him lower.
I have to admit disappointment to find that this post is the only one tagged “idiots”. I’m looking forward to future posts in this category.
Garcia i can see since he came back so strong this year and he is lefthanded which makes everyone a little more excited but there is no excuse for Freese being ahead. He is 27 and has only had one good year, not a great one mind you, but a good one. I still say Allen Craig should be ahead of Freese (if i were to put him on the list, which i wouldnt). Even Lance Lynn should be considered way before…blah peoples ignorance still bumfuckles me…
Idle thought: Wonder how much of the voters’ unwillingness to vote for a can’t-miss high-school pitching prospect is derived from memories of another can’t-miss high-school pitching prospect who was drafted in 1997?
How does Freese project to a 1 win player exactly? He’s entering his prime years, his MLEs the past two years in AAA have been above the MLB average at 3B, and he’s considered at worst average defensively. Obviously there is some bust potential with every prospect, but 2.5 wins, league-average production, is a perfectly reasonable expectation. If Miller’s command was a sure thing he’d be a no-brainer as our #1 prospect. With his command where it is, I think the community made the right choice here.