Archive for the “Prospect rankings” Category

I promise to have some thoughts about this in the next few days but here’s the list (full article requires subscription).  The only thing I’ll say in passing is that I feel like Adron Chambers is getting a bit of  a bandwagon effect from the internet which can act as an echo chamber at times.  Otherwise, I don’t see a lot of reasons to hate on this list.  Kevin Goldstein does, on balance, very good work and I love the format he uses in this series.

Updated 2/24/10 – 9:00pm

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Shelby Miller made the list, ranking 50th overall. Miller was the lone Cardinal representation. In other news, the Cardinal team color will remain red.

Brett Wallace ranked 27th.

In other news, Scott Bittle is probably toast. Take it away, Strauss -

Bittle’s issues are believed significant. His shoulder issue is most obvious toward the anterior (front) part of his shoulder. If surgery is required, it likely would be similar to the capsule-tightening procedure former Cardinals lefthander Mark Mulder required in 2006. Mulder made one abbreviated start with the club in two seasons after the surgery and last week at least postponed a comeback attempt.

Yep, he’s fried.

Two Cardinal farmhands rank on the top 100: Shelby Miller, 38 & Daryl Jones, 59.

Link

Law has been consistently bullish on DJ Tools upside and obviously sees much of the same in the arm of Shelby Miller. Again, this seems eminently reasonable to me.  I’m having a recollection of a KLaw chat where he implied that Jones would be ranked ahead of Miller though.  If anyone can come across that or also remembers that, drop a note in the comments.

More interesting for us is his top 10 list for Cardinal prospects:

1. Shelby Miller, RHP
2. Daryl Jones, OF
3. Lance Lynn, RHP
4. Jaime Garcia, RHP
5. Robert Stock, C
6. Dan Descalso, 2B
7. Eduardo Sanchez, RHP
8. Adron Chambers, OF
9. Francisco Samuel, RHP
10. Audris Perez, C

It’s an interesting list that clearly favors eventual upside over proximity to the majors.  Accepting that prospect worldview I think Sanchez is a touch underrated.  Audris Perez is a Dominican Republic signee who played in Johnson City last year (also seen as Audry Perez).  I think the Lynn over Garcia rating is bogus (and may or may not be influenced by the wrongly classified “RHP” Garcia).  Overall though, a solid assessment.

Concluding the series comes a somewhat unsurprising top 5.  This is where the most clarity and consensus exists but it’s also includes a different caliber of player than in some of the past seasons after the Cardinals graduate and traded a significant amount of the upper echelon of their farm system.

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The next five prospects include a few graybeards.  Players that have limited upsides but are close to, if not already, major league ready.  There’s not a lot of upside with this group but there’s not a lot of risk either.  Also, a 2009 draftee makes an appearance.

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Most of the players in the next group have seen their stocks drop over the last year.  A group of prospects that once looked like they may have a larger role now appear to be a collection of role players.

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Kicking off the official Future Redbirds rankings (installment 1 of 4) for 2010 comes a smattering of relievers and flawed but intriguingly talented prospects.

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You can go here to see Sickels’ full commentary, here’s his top 20:

1. Shelby Miller
2. Jaime Garcia
3. Lance Lynn
4. Robert Stock
5. Daryl Jones
6. Eduardo Sánchez
7. Allen Craig
8. David Freese
9. Jon Jay
10. Joe Kelly
11. Dan Descalso
12. Tyler Henley
13. Blake Hawksworth
14. Tyler Greene
15. Steven Hill
16. Pete Kozma
17. Francisco Samuel
18. Scott Bittle
19. Mark Hamilton
20. Tyler Norrick

No major surprises here, other than Sickels is higher on Stock than most of the other rankings I’ve seen so far. Sickels seems to like our system more than I thought he would. B grades for prospects 1-7, which is good, but obviously the system is way, way down from where it was a year ago. Maybe not 30th overall bad, but in definitely in the “bad neighborhood”.

The good news is the Cardinals are more than likely to have several extra high draft picks from the departures of Holliday, DeRosa and Pineiro. And, Miller could become a beast and there’s always the potential for more breakouts.

The first of many to come.

1. Lance Lynn
2. Jaime Garcia
3. Daryl Jones
4. Allen Craig
5. Eduardo Sanchez
6. Daniel Descalso
7. Adam Reifer
8. David Freeze
9. Bryan Anderson
10. Pete Kozma

This is an unconventional list in my estimation in large part because of the total absence of any 2009 draftees.  That said, we’re liable to see a ton of variation between lists given the turnover within the farm system last year.

Update: Nevermind, I’m illiterate: “(2009 Draft Picks/International Signees Not Included)”.  That said, excluding them feels a bit like a cop-out.

Derrick 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.