Before rolling out the 2012 Future Redbirds Top 20 prospects, I trolled everyone inadvertently with a compilation of the 2011 list. There was a lot of turnover from last year with nine players who appeared on the previous list failing to make this years. Who were they, and why did they go drop off?

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It’s here. It’s really here. We’ve got the top 20 for 2012 running over the next several days. There was a great deal of consensus between my list and Jeff’s with just 4 players appearing on only one list — two of which, you’ve already read about in Adron Chambers and Tyler Rahmatulla.

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Adron Chambers

Age – 25
Stats
38th Round of 2007 Draft

Adron Chambers got a whiff of the big league club this past year, which was great, but unfortunately, we all got an even better idea of his limitations and ceiling.  Chambers is a left-handed only, no power, lots of speed center-fielder who presents good defense in center and plus defense in the corners.  However, being that his bat does not play in the LF or RF, he is limited to center.

His position, CF, is filled by a similar type player in Jon Jay.  Neither are any longer blocked by Colby Rasmus, but Jon Jay has the a similar profile to Chambers.  Chambers offers more speed, but Jay offers slightly more power and both are lefties.  Jay is prone to slumps and is not in any way shape or form “blocking” center-field for any prospect.  However, Adron Chambers does not have the offensive potential to be a starting everyday center-fielder.

Chambers has dropped off the list as the Cardinals system has improved and Chambers limitations have become more clear.  His current projection is looking more like a 5th outfielder/bench/pinch runner/defensive sub role.

Tyler Rahmatulla

Age – 22
Stats
34th Round of 2011 Draft

This may be the 2011 version of my Nick Longmire pick last year but I’ve been a fan of Rahmatulla since draft day.  He has the defensive chops to stick at second base but his calling card will be his bat. Injuries and academic problems derailed his college career but the Cardinals took a late round flier on him. He was impressive in 2011 but there should be skepticism about a 21 year old tearing up Johnson City. He ended 2011 with the best OPS on the club (outside of 22 at bats by Charlie Tilson) showing his ability to take a walk, hit for average and hit for power.

Kolten Wong  will certainly suck up the prospect oxygen in the room when discussing the Cardinals future second base posiibilities but keep an eye on Rahmatulla when he hits full season minors.  He’s worth watching.

• Baseball Instinct is running their top 360 prospects and, yes, I’m extremely skeptical of anyone’s ability to rank 360 prospects. There’s Cardinals prospects in here though with notes on them that make for interesting reads. It’s a fun exercise but I wouldn’t worry about a 342 rank versus a 341 rank.
• Matt Adams did a Q&A with MiLB.com.  Adams has a clear opening with the departure of Albert Pujols and a big year consistent with his previous efforts could help his chances at landing the 1B job in 2013.

Update on Jan. 4th, 2012

Joe Strauss reports the hiring is official. Dan Kantrovitz (get used to spelling that) is the new Director of Amateur Scouting.  If there was a candidate who, on paper, should make you feel like they will be able to replace Luhnow, this is him. As so often is the case, it will be years before we get a good feel for how effective he’ll really be.

Now to see how blog friendly he is . . .

Originally Published on Dec. 22, 2011

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This is the full compilation of 2011′s top 20.

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